Child custody disputes can be some of the most emotional and complicated parts of divorce or separation. When parents cannot agree on where their children should live or how parenting time should be shared, the court must determine what arrangement serves the best interests of the child. One concern parents often have is whether the judge might speak directly with ...
Kids repeat everything. Everything. You mutter something sharp about your ex on Tuesday, and by Thursday your child is quoting it to a teacher, a counselor, or — worst of all — someone connected to your case, like a guardian ad litem. In Virginia family court, what feels like “just venting” can quickly become a child custody issue. Virginia judges ...
In the late 18th century, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon famously criticized the New World — including Virginia — as a land of weak and inferior life. Thomas Jefferson responded forcefully in Notes on the State of Virginia, cataloging example after example of strength, adaptability, and resilience. That historical debate turns out to be surprisingly relevant today, because Virginia courts ...
Virginia’s lawmakers cannot be accused of stuffy consistency. The phrase, “best interests of the child” appears five times in the divorce section of Virginia’s Code. But, the phrase “best interest of the child” appears another three times. Singular, plural; it really does not matter. Virginia goes to great lengths to prioritize children’s needs in a Virginia separation and divorce. Jump ...
Once upon a time in Virginia, multigenerational families were normal. The recent pandemic and economic uncertainties have resurrected a return to adult children living with their parents. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us 56 percent of adults ages 18 to 24 lived in their parental home, with 16 percent of adults ages 25 to 34 living with their parents in ...
If you had a BINGO board for our blog articles, the “best interests of the child” would get covered in every game. Today we are talking about clawing back rights related to child custody in Virginia, which means everybody’s favorite phrase—let’s just call it the BIC—will make multiple guest appearances. Jump to a Section Virginia Custody Explained The Best Interests ...
Hatmaker may be a funny-sounding last name, but that is the only thing funny about Jordan Hatmaker. The 35-year-old Virginia Beach skydiving native survived a terrifying freefall of 13,500 feet when her parachute tangled. We emphasize her age only because she was not a child. Had she been a minor, such a stunt would qualify as an “unsafe environment.” But ...
Talk about dicey situations. You take your tiny tykes to their mother’s house for parenting time, and you definitely smell alcohol on her breath. Oh, she claims it is strong mouthwash, but then when you pick them up later, you glimpse the disheveled mess over her shoulder: plastic cups, empty liquor bottles. What can you do? Plenty! Softball: First, Have ...
You’re nothing special. Sounds harsh, right? Well, for a sliver of Virginia’s men, that’s actually good news. If you’re an alcoholic, you might think you are a rare misfire, a faulty launch. You are neither, since roughly 5.9 percent of Virginians and U.S. adults said they were “heavy drinkers,” according to the 2017 State of Virginia Epidemiological Profile: Alcohol (the ...