In 1932 a couple of German doctors called some children’s constant restlessness and inability to focus by a medical term, hyperkinetic disease. That was inevitably followed in 1937 by medication, benzedrine, to treat it. Today we call it attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether in adults or children, ADHD can be a major disrupter in divorce and custody schedules. Jump ...
This article is a part of our Family Law 101 series. Jump to a Section What is a guardian ad litem (GAL)? Guardian ad litem meaning What is the purpose of a guardian ad litem? Children’s rights Adult incapacitated persons’ rights What do guardian ad litems do? How to tell if the guardian ad litem is on your side Who ...
This article is a part of our Family Law 101 series. Jump to a Section Separation Definition How to Separate Legally The Code of Virginia & Separation How to Prove Separation Divorce from Bed & Board Separation Agreements What to Include in a Separation Agreement When to Contact a Divorce Attorney Separation Definition Separation in Virginia means to live “separate ...
Virginia Woman Leaves Toddler in Car; a headline like that can make a divorced father sick to his stomach. Worse, the woman is alleged to have left her two-year-old kid in the car so she could hang out in a bar. If you were the child’s father, how would you deal with that? Would you move heaven and earth to ...
Child custody cases can become legal nightmares, as in the case of Virginia’s own Lisa Miller, who fled the country with her daughter more than 10 years ago, supposedly on the advice of her counsel at the time. You can avoid upending your life, your ex’s life, and the lives of your children with a piece of paper, the consent ...
Sultan Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif, 17th century ruler of Morocco, holds the record for siring the most children in history, at 867. He was not a man to cross; he had four wives and 500 concubines and killed any man who looked at them. Not much is said about his 525 sons and 342 daughters, but you just know he ...
Virginia’s laws are full of odd expressions: in loco parentis; legitimate interest; confirmatory adoption. Sure, they all mean something to someone, but most Virginians can live their entire lives without ever stumbling into these words. Unless you are a stepfather or a nice guy trying to do right by a woman you love by acting like a father to her ...
In Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale,” a lowly shepherd discovers an abandoned baby. He says, “Mercy on ’s, a bairn! A very pretty bairn. A boy or a child, I wonder?” And the audience laughs, because “boy or child” sounds like an actor forgetting his lines. But in 16th century England, a “child” was a girl. And today, in Virginia, an ...
The scientific debate has raged among anthropologists for decades: why are human babies born helpless? Pelvic size, maternal metabolism, the size of Junior’s noggin — all have been offered as reasons why those tiny humans cannot walk, feed themselves, or sit upright. No other mammal is born so dependent on its parents. A newborn baby arriving after a divorce adds ...