Parents worry for their children. This is basic human instinct, and with the pandemic confronting every Virginian, every American, every citizen of earth, we worry even more. How will COVID-19 affect your children? How will your child custody, parenting time and visitation schedules change in this time of crisis? Scales of Justice Superseding the various statutes, laws, and court opinions ...
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 ...
Hamidou Diallo won the NBA's 2019 Slam Dunk Contest in an event that saw a Wright Brothers plane, some major air and some major attitude. His leap over Shaquille O’Neal brought down the house. When you catch the mother of your kids cheating, you might think your custody case is a slam dunk. Is it? Old World Morality Unfortunately for a Virginia ...
Olivia Roehm weighs 111 pounds. Or, she did the day she and husband Jerome Roehm won the 2019 North American Wife Carrying Championship1, held in October in Maine. We're not being nosy — the winning couple got five times the wife's weight in cash (in Olivia's case, $555), plus her weight in beer (six cases). We bring this up because many a Virginia man feels ...
Some people say they are born to be great parents. Others have great parenting thrust upon them. You know, like when a court tells you, "Straight up, you and your ex (or the mother of your children) have to go to co-parenting classes." The Circuit Court in Virginia that orders this is, essentially, driving home the reality that Virginia always keeps ...
You humbly drove your Toyota Corolla away from your tidy home in the suburbs, rejected and dejected. Your wife went from that sad separation to her divorce attorney and filed a protective order against you. You must stay away. But when you left the night was fast approaching, the weather howling, and you had only your North Face jacket, Tommy ...
Today's Latin lesson brings us the word “putativus,” which comes from a Latin stem meaning to believe or suspect. From this we get putative, as in Virginia's putative father registry. Lawyers love Latin. Putative means “generally considered or assumed to be.” As in, you are the child's putative father. How Virginia Birth Certificates Work We think of birth certificates as a legal magic wand, casting ...
A cornerstone of the Constitution enshrines states' rights, saying anything not specifically laid out in the Constitution by default falls to the states. This is why we have state control of education, fair housing, the death penalty, and marijuana laws. Sometimes we have conflict between federal and state law, and sometimes federal laws are enacted specifically to overrule states' laws. ...
You politely decline an invitation to have that second helping of banana pudding. That is not, legally, "right of first refusal," but nice try (and probably better for your pants). No, right of first refusal in child custody and parenting plans means the right for the non-custodial parent to be contacted when the custodial parent needs a babysitter, extended child care, and ...