More than 168,400 special needs children were enrolled in Virginia's public schools in 2016, according to the Virginia Department of Education. For 2013 (the most recently available year) Virginia recorded over 29,400 divorces. Those two typical statistics intersect far more often than most people realize. If you are contemplating a divorce and you are the father of a special needs child, ...
The legal word "consent" is often associated with intimate matters like sex, statutory rape and marriage. It also extends, though, to the often-inevitable outcome of sex: pregnancy. Women in Virginia have powerful rights to give or deny consent to the fathers of their unborn children, such as consent to attend prenatal appointments, consent to hear information from their obstetricians, and ...
When you divorce your wife, you also divorce her family. That moment is a huge reset button for relationships. Any veneer of cordiality is ripped away. Any pretense to continue tolerating one another is sundered. After the divorce's legal clauses come out, the claws come out. What if your ex-wife's parents or siblings are deliberately trying to drive a wedge between ...
In Virginia, some parents have an interesting (if inaccurate) view of court documents. Apparently, they feel they are optional, as in, the parent can ignore the specific directions of a court. These same parents may feel "Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat" is a little bossy, or that advice not to look at solar eclipses is just fear-mongering. Imagine their surprise, then, to ...
The clothes wringer was invented in the 1880s by a woman, Ellen Elgin, and is still sold today. We mention it in passing because many of our clients feel as though their divorce has put them through the wringer, at least figuratively. After divorce, if you feel wrung out, twisted in knots, and a bit soggy, could counseling help? Counseling ...
You don't usually think of children as property, but in a strange legal sense, they are. If you and your wife have children, you have a legal right to see, be with, and enjoy the company of your children. That simple legal fact means your wife cannot legally deprive you of them by taking them from you. Your children also ...
The time you spend with your own children is rare, precious and fleeting. Make the most of your parenting time by ensuring your kids feel comfortable, welcomed, and part of your family story. Try these ideas for just about any situation. Supervised Parenting Time In some family law cases, you as the Dad may have child visitation time prescribed in ...
Blended families, nuclear families, step families, grandparent families and single parent families. Today's social structures would largely be unrecognizable to past generations. When your ex-wife sets out on her own (probably with considerable financial support from you), she starts a new variation on your original family structure. If that new variation includes a new man, you may worry about the second ...
The mother of your children may have left your life, but you are committed to keeping the relationship with your own kids healthy. Unfortunately, the guy your ex-wife or ex-partner is now seeing is, well, a creeper. He unsettles you, says inappropriate things, and makes a point of displaying his control of your ex. Worse, he sends out the wrong ...