Children & Parenting

Do Stepparents Have Rights in Virginia?

France’s 1789 document, Declaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen1, translates as Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It says nothing of stepparents. That oversight, however, was definitely not the cause of the French Revolution, though we are sure plenty of disgruntled stepparents played roles in crushing the ancien régime. What rights do stepparents have ...

By |November 6th, 2017|

Do I Have to Continue Living in Virginia After I File for Divorce?

True or false (it’s okay — you’re not sworn in): Electronic ankle bracelets were inspired by a Spider Man comic. That is true, says CBR.com1. Judge Jack Love read a Spider Man comic strip about a villain tracking Spidey with such a bracelet and asked computer salesman Michael T. Goss to make it. In 1983, the ankle monitor was born. After ...

By |November 3rd, 2017|

Can Adultery Affect Custody Rulings?

In Virginia, adultery is one of the fault grounds for divorce. It is ugly and sometimes challenging to prove legally, but of the fault grounds, it is one of the more benign malignancies. Your other choices of what to level against your wife are buggery, sodomy, or felony, among others. If adultery is legally proven, though, what does that do ...

By |November 1st, 2017|

Being Technostalked? Here’s How to Avoid Being Tracked by Your Ex

The recent revelation that Equifax, one of the three big credit-reporting agencies, suffered an enormous data breach1 has many Virginians upset, and rightly so. Yet divorced Virginia men may have already had far more personal reasons to feel threatened: the risk of technostalking by an estranged spouse or, after a divorce, an ex-wife. Technostalking means using technology to track, monitor or spy ...

By |October 27th, 2017|

What Are a Father’s Visitation Rights?

Most adult men are not whiners. They do not complain incessantly about how unfair life is; adults leave that to developing children and teens. If ever a circumstance could make a Virginia man feel like whining, though, it would be after a divorce. The divorce, custody and visitation laws of the Commonwealth are not written with the best interests of ...

By |October 23rd, 2017|

Forensic Evaluations & What They Mean to Your Custody Case

While struggling through the many twists and turns of a child custody case, you may encounter a term that seems ripped from television drama: forensic evaluation. Today the word “forensic” is most often associated with a crime, but its origin is from Latin and simply means “in open court,” or “public.” A court may order a forensic evaluation to determine ...

By |October 13th, 2017|

What’s the Difference Between Mediation and Arbitration?

Don Denkinger probably wishes people had asked him to mediate first base instead of arbitrate it. His infamous blown call in the 1985 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series allowed the Kansas City Royals to rally and take Game 6, forcing a Game 7, which they won against the St. Louis Cardinals. Denkinger was not asked for advice at first base; ...

By |October 6th, 2017|

What is Abandonment? Can I Be Accused of It?

Would you ever leave your children in a locked car in a parking lot, alone? Probably not. Would you ever go to a nightclub with your wife, but leave without her? Probably not. Final question: would you ever walk out the door, saying you were running to the store for milk and would be back in 20 minutes, only to ...

By |October 2nd, 2017|

When is it Safe to introduce my Girlfriend to My Kids?

Two black holes collided more than a billion years ago, but the gravitational waves generated by the event did not reach earth until September 14, 2015. You might think such a monumental meeting would be a booming, mysterious — even frightening — sound. Not so. It is a cartoon sound effect1, reminiscent of a slide whistle. The collision of your ...

By |September 27th, 2017|
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