Few students of literature these days can easily recall Robert Frost’s Mending Wall1, but it begins with the famous “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” and ends with the ironic and eloquent, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Property disputes in divorce remind us of the sad irony and wistful despondency of Frost’s poem. The blithe neighbor in the ...
The short answer to this question is a rounding "yes," but understanding equitable distribution, what it is, and how it's divided is a topic all to itself. Equitable distribution doesn't mean splitting property right down the middle, but focuses instead on splitting property as fairly as possible. And while this certainly sounds encouraging, the reality behind a court deciding who ...
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 ...
For the first quarter of 2017, American households carried $764 billion in credit card debt, says the Federal Reserve Bank of New York1. If your estranged wife is doing more than her part to add to that debt load, what can you do about it? More important, how does her behavior put you at risk? Estranged is a Strange Word ...
Mark your calendars now: July 28, 2061 will be the perihelion of Halley’s Comet. No, don’t scratch your head; it’s when Halley’s Comet returns; its perihelion is the comet’s closest approach to the sun. Science is a marvel: we can know to the day when an important astronomical event like Halley’s Comet will be on us. Law is sometimes a ...
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 ...
“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 ...
Lawyers love words. We use them a lot, in both English and Latin. Our “briefs” are anything but, and legal paper is notorious for being several inches longer than letter-sized paper because, well, we like words. Here’s an epigram (a sharp saying) you may not expect: “To err is human; to forgive, humane.” When forgiving a spouse some egregious act ...
Audi's four-wheel drive system, the Quattro®, is a great automotive innovation, but it's no QDRO. They are both nearly identical in pronunciation, but a QDRO has legal muscle, whereas a Quattro®, which admittedly handles great in the snow, is ineffective in court. A QDRO is, in the memorably bureaucratic words of the U.S. Department of Labor, “a domestic relations order ...