We all remember the quaint days of “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service.” Nowadays, it’s “No Mask, No Service.” What happens if it’s “No Court Order, No Custody” looming in your life? At The Start: Equal Responsibility in Parenting Babies are natural. Paperwork is not. Babies are born free and unencumbered by birth certificates, immunization records, report cards, driver licenses, ...
When we say, “All work is noble,” we not only forget the other half of that quotation, but we also ignore the subtle disdain it shows for anyone not working. When Maria Montessori said, “All work is noble,” she finished the thought with, “the only ignoble thing is to live without working.” What does Virginia make of a mother who ...
Parents protect their children. All mammals — otters, ocelots, wombats, numbats — worry over and coddle and defend their offspring. Instinct makes a Virginia parent especially sensitive to risk during a pandemic. Intentional or not, some Virginia custodial parents are withholding visitation and parenting time. What risk does that bring, and what is a better way? Let’s Focus on Science, ...
If you are a military man, you live and work at the whim of the military. Just as your children have almost no input into decisions that affect them, you have little input into decisions affecting you. You rise in rank and earn more pay; you are unlikely to say no to those decisions. You are relocated to a distant base; you have to ...
COVID-19 is a dread disease. Nobody — not Governor Northam, not your child’s teachers, not your family law attorney — wants you to catch this illness or worse, spread it to your own children. Here are some practical and possible ways to practice social distancing while still enjoying parenting time with your kids. Children Are Susceptible Let’s start by dispelling ...
COVID-19 has changed the pace, productivity and pleasures of daily life here in Virginia. As a non-custodial parent, you may be wondering how Governor Northam’s March 12 emergency order affects your rights to parenting time, child visitation, and maintaining a healthy family relationship. Stay at Home In addition to the COVID-19 emergency order, Governor Northam followed up with his Executive ...
Much of the time on these pages, we take a bit of a sassy approach to family law matters. With the worldwide pandemic from COVID-19, we are setting aside our usual stand-up routine and standing up for you, Virginia’s men, as you attempt to deal with the Virginia courts. Here is what can and cannot be done in these perilous ...
An old joke says the second prize in a contest is a two-week vacation in Philadelphia. The first prize is a one-week vacation in Philadelphia. Sometimes the prize is not always what it is cracked up to be. Take custodial care for your children, for example. You want to be a good parent. You want primary custody of them. Have you stopped ...
Virginia has a drug addiction problem. According to The Commonwealth Fund1, our state suffered 17.1 drug-poisoning deaths per 100,000 Virginians in 2017 (the latest year for data). That may not sound like a lot, but it is significantly elevated above the 2013 rate of 10.2 deaths per 100,000. Your family law case — child custody, separation, divorce, spousal support — can be affected ...