If you look at some legal papers, lawyers seem to be paid by the word. We aren’t, but we do love our language. We revel in Latin phrases; we delight in odd constructions like estoppel and demurrer. So what can we unpack in a basic word like cheap? Does it only mean something acquired at low cost? Or do you ...
A bedrock of Virginia law is intent. What someone intends is as important as what someone does. It is dressed up with a Latin phrase: mens rea. Mens rea refers to the defendant’s state of mind. It describes the mental condition that the prosecution must prove a defendant had when committing a crime. Desertion in Virginia law very much hinges ...
Barroom lawyers are interesting folks. If you want to start a friendly—or not-so-friendly — argument spirited discussion in a Virginia bar, take bets on the concept of “legal separation in Virginia.” Hint: Virginia has no mechanism for “legal separation.” A married couple is either married or divorced, and during the time before divorce, you two are separated but still married ...
Most people seem to link messy with divorce, and then wrinkle up their noses. But another word reflects the undercurrent most people do not want to think about: expensive. Divorce is a costly proposition. One tactic to reduce the financial impact is to make the spouse pay for both lawyers, right? Well, that only works some of the time. Stacked ...
Cremation yields about five pounds of ash. Cremains are of no commercial value, which means the brouhaha in the news recently—a woman is accused of stealing her dead sister’s ashes—centers on sentimental value. Determining the value of household items (including Grandma in her urn) comes down to three decisions. How to Determine “Book Value” If you have ever bought or ...
Winning big prizes from Publishers Clearing House generally involves a drawn-out series of mailed tasks — filling out forms, sending in “Almost a Winner” cards — in a process lasting weeks. Sure, you may already be a winner of the Grand Prize, but do not count your cash before the Prize Patrol appears. The same goes for getting a green ...
Gristmills are still scattered across Virginia1, though they have had little or no role in grinding our wheat into flour for about a century. We mention gristmills because, in the third century a Greek philosopher2 came up with the catchy phrase, “The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind small.” That has come down to us as, “The ...
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. See the amazing, the stupendous, the colossal Final Decree of Divorce. Behold the mysteries and secrets revealed right before your eyes! The Final Decree of Divorce, The Eighth Wonder As you work through all the stages of separation — the six-month or 12-month waiting period, filing for divorce, affidavits, depositions, evidence heard ore tenus ...
Congratulations on successfully navigating your way through a tricky divorce from your one-time spouse. Now that you can say you have an ex, you need to tidy up some details. Like that pesky mortgage on that fabulous Virginia mansion … or ranch house … or bungalow. Big or little, your house had both your name and your ex’s name on ...