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 ...
Why an "A" for Effort? Effort begins with E; the traditional grading system does not even have an E. You can thank Mount Holyoke College, circa 1897, for letter grades. We are certain most of our loyal readers were Straight-A students, but imagine getting a C- on something. Not too impressive, is it? Virginia's "Shared Parenting Report Card" earns the ...
In a nation with 50-year record low unemployment1, the idea of choosing to be unemployed seems ... odd. Whether underemployed or unemployed by choice, the spouse who connives to get by with less may be buying herself a world of misery. If she tries this strategy attempting to get more spousal support, let her know you have her number. She’s Too ...
An old joke says the second prize in a contest is a two-week vacation in Philadelphia. The first prize is a one-week vacation in Philadelphia. Sometimes the prize is not always what it is cracked up to be. Take custodial care for your children, for example. You want to be a good parent. You want primary custody of them. Have you stopped ...
Grimm's Fairy Tales were, in their original 1812 compilation by the two brothers, rather, well, grim. A significant portion of the stories, says History.com1, entailed outright child abuse and wicked mothers. Originally told, Hansel and Gretel's mother talks the father into abandoning the kids. Snow White's mother, not a stepmother, was jealous enough in the original telling to banish the ...
In a Virginia divorce, you may be accused of being at fault, or responsible for the divorce. You and your highly skilled family law attorney can fight charges of being at fault through affirmative defenses. Five typical affirmative defenses in divorce cases are condonation, insanity, collusion, recrimination, and connivance. Let's take a closer look at each. Condonation Under Virginia Code § 20-91, ...
The official ball point pen of the U.S. Government is the Skilcraft®, the result of a 16-page federal specifications document. Yup, the federal government cranked out 16 pages of excruciating detail for a pen. Does it surprise anyone, then, that subtleties exist in the law that make terms like uncontested divorce different from no-fault divorce? We are here to clarify ...
Childhood taunts seem to be in the air these days. "I know you are but what am I?" "I'm rubber and you're glue; your words bounce off me and stick to you." If you find your ex-wife stooping to the level of a schoolyard bully in dealing with parenting time, try these four solutions. It’s Not “Just a Threat” In a ...
You have been ordered by a Virginia court to undergo drug testing related to your child custody case. Terrified, you comply. And then you have to hope. You have to hope that an owner of the testing laboratory dealing with your test does not alter or forge your results. Hey, it happens! Well, It’s Not Alabama You live in Virginia, a ...