National Coming Out Day is October 11 (yes, that's the day this was published!), a tradition begun in 1988. Every year, lesbians and gay men find the courage to come out as homosexual, often to the shame and scorn of family and friends. Just as often, of course, they are supported and loved for their decision to share something so ...
A chasm is not a canyon. Consider the Grand Canyon, very deep but also very wide. Seeing it is awe-inspiring and humbling. Consider, though, a deep, narrow fissure, so deep you cannot see the bottom. It is far more terrifying than awesome. Couples facing marital separation may feel a wide canyon separates them, but the fear they feel really means ...
Don Denkinger probably wishes people had asked him to mediate first base instead of arbitrate it. His infamous blown call in the 1985 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series allowed the Kansas City Royals to rally and take Game 6, forcing a Game 7, which they won against the St. Louis Cardinals. Denkinger was not asked for advice at first base; ...
Would you ever leave your children in a locked car in a parking lot, alone? Probably not. Would you ever go to a nightclub with your wife, but leave without her? Probably not. Final question: would you ever walk out the door, saying you were running to the store for milk and would be back in 20 minutes, only to ...
Two black holes collided more than a billion years ago, but the gravitational waves generated by the event did not reach earth until September 14, 2015. You might think such a monumental meeting would be a booming, mysterious — even frightening — sound. Not so. It is a cartoon sound effect1, reminiscent of a slide whistle. The collision of your ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...