Virginia, sadly, has been the site of many battles throughout our nation’s history. From the 1610 Anglo-Powhatan Wars through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, our mighty state has seen a lot of clashes. It troubles us as attorneys that conflicts over child custody are routinely described as “battles.” A Virginia judge may, in fact, gauge your merit in a custody dispute based on ...
Without a doubt, being a single parent is one of the hardest jobs around. Not only do you have to be the financial provider holding down a regular job or two – but you must also provide emotional support for your children on a daily basis. The most successful single parents—mothers and fathers alike—develop strategies that allow them to accomplish ...
A popular riddle of decades ago recently resurfaced, in which a father and son are injured in a car accident; Dad is out of commission, and the son is wheeled into the operating room. The surgeon takes a look and says, “I can’t operate on my own son.” Decades ago, this riddle1 turned on the radical thought that the surgeon ...
You know who has a very limited sense of humor? Attorneys and judges, that’s who. When you are embroiled in, say, a custody case, fighting for physical custody of your children, your fabled wit and insightful sarcasm should be conspicuously absent. The law, in Virginia and elsewhere, is a treasured, serious and honored idea. Judges especially do not enjoy courtroom ...
Whether you already have a great relationship with your kids, or are trying to improve upon it, there are plenty of ways to work on your family interactions. No two situations are alike, and of course there's always room for improvement when it comes to your children (sky’s the limit, pal!). If it’s important to you to grow as a parent, ...
“See you in court! I will be your worst nightmare and easy to spot. I will be the one in the crop top with the baby blue sport coat.” No you most certainly will not, young man. What may have been okay for Ezekiel Elliott at the NFL draft1 is not okay for Virginia courts. Men are not usually hailed ...
As that great legal scholar, Basil, once said, “No one can have a higher opinion of you than I have, and I think you're a slimy, contemptible sewer rat!” In Disney’s “The Great Mouse Detective” the object of this insult, Ratigan, really was a slimy, contemptible sewer rat. Your goal, in working through your family law issues in Virginia, is ...
For anyone in our nation’s military services, acronyms are a fact of life. From Weapon Of Magnesium, Battalion, Anti-Tank — aka WOMBAT — to Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS), weird clusters of letters invariably mean something important. The USFSPA, or Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act, is an important acronym that could be a path to a comfortable retirement in later ...
Dear Jason, My ex-wife was so uncaring about my pain from our separation and divorce, I could not bear to go home so I spent the next six weeks sleeping on the floor of a friend’s house. What should I do? Your Friend, Brad Dear Brad, I notice your separation and divorce was important enough to make the newspapers ...
