What is Spousal Support, and What’s the Law?

Spousal support, often known more commonly as alimony, is used not to punish one spouse, but to support a financially dependent spouse in the event of a pending divorce and/or after a divorce.  Spousal support can be established either by an agreement between the divorcing parties or upon award by the Court.  In Virginia, there is no “right” to spousal …

What is Child Support & How Do I Get It?

Child support is the monetary obligation that a noncustodial parent/responsible party (parent who does not have physical custody of their child) pays to the parent who does (custodial parent).  In Virginia, both parents are financially responsible for the child, but the law presumes that the parent with whom the child is living provides for many of the child’s financial needs, …

Do You REALLY Need an Attorney During a Divorce?

While it is possible to pursue a divorce without an attorney to represent you, legal issues involving family and children can often get heated, and complex, even out of control, very quickly. An experienced family law attorney can typically foresee and warn you about potential complications that often occur to better prepare you to avoid problems or to respond positively to those …

I Never Thought I’d be Getting a Divorce – What Do I Do Now?

Getting a divorce involves a radical re-framing of life for most people. For years perhaps, you have been planning a future with your spouse — and a divorce changes ALL of those plans in one single day. It is normal to have feelings of loss, or to be bombarded by new and unfamiliar emotions during a divorce. Yep, even for …

Can My Spouse Claim Retirement Benefits in a Divorce?

When you’re getting a divorce, you may wonder if your spouse has a claim on any of your retirement benefits. Or you may hope that you can claim a share of the family’s retirement benefits because you did not factor a divorce into your life plan until recently, and you have been counting on those benefits for your retirement.  For …

Who Needs a Family Law Attorney?

EVERYBODY hates lawyers . . . BUT everybody loves THEIR lawyer!  Let’s face it; unless you are adopting a child, no one wants to need a family lawyer.  Usually unfortunate and unwanted circumstances in the family drive you to your lawyer.  From Prenuptial to Probate, trouble can arise, and often without warning and without easy answers. Much like a dentist, you might not mind visiting a …

Who Can Claim the Children as Dependents for Tax Purposes?

This issue is either overlooked by the separated or recently divorced parties, or it is hotly disputed; in either case, it is almost always misunderstood. One parent typically believes that since he or she is spending more time physically caring for the children, he or she should have the privilege of claiming the children as dependents each year at tax …

How Expensive Is Getting a Divorce?

A friend tells another friend over coffee, “Well it’s finally over–Frank’s lawyer got the apartment and my lawyer got the two cars and the beach house!” Many of us wish that were actually funny.  Isn’t it interesting that the filing fee for divorce is less than one hundred dollars, and practically any Attorney can draft the required documents in a …