Posted on April 02, 2025 in Child Custody

You're worried about losing your connection with your child after the divorce. The problem isn't necessarily your spouse, however, but your child's own preference. When you told them that the two of you were going to get divorced, they told you that they only wanted to live with your ex.

However, you may find yourself wondering if your child even can make this decision in the first place. Don't you have to split up child custody rights? If the court gives you custody, doesn't that mean that you will maintain the relationship with your child?

Your child's preference

Courts may indeed need to make a custody ruling if you and your spouse can't agree on an arrangement yourselves. It's also true that many courts will split custody between parents so that neither one of them loses touch with their child.

That said, your is one of the factors that the court can consider. First and foremost, it likely depends on your child's age and other relevant factors. The court needs to believe that the child is old enough and wise enough to understand the decision they're making.

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 Posted on March 28, 2025 in Divorce

Investing is an important financial strategy for people thinking about the future. Married couples often develop investment plans as a way to increase their personal wealth and prepare for retirement. They buy stocks, acquire vacant parcels of land, purchase gold or even accrue digital resources that could appreciate in value over time. Often, the intention is to hold these investments for years or even decades.

If couples invest during a marriage and then decide to divorce, they may have a challenging process ahead. Investments come in many different forms, and couples may have diversified their portfolios to optimize their financial stability. They could have a number of different types of investments to address as they seek to divide their property equitably. Spouses with investments can anticipate numerous challenges arising in the near future, including the three discussed below.

Separating personal investments from marital ones

Individuals driven to achieve financial stability and career success may have already made significant strides toward those goals before getting married. They may have accumulated real estate holdings, stock portfolios and other assets. Spouses may need to invest time and effort into analyzing their holdings to determine what is marital property and what is separate property that only belongs to one spouse.

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 Posted on March 16, 2025 in Divorce

It's certainly a stressful time for federal employees here in Northern Virginia and across the country. If you're considering or already planning a divorce (and you and/or your spouse is a federal employee), the temperature in Washington can definitely add uncertainty and stress for the whole family during an already stressful time.

If you're the spouse of a current or retired federal employee, you may be able to continue to receive health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan post-divorce. It's important to know whether you will continue to qualify for this coverage and what your options are if you don't.

Can you continue to receive FEHB coverage?

As long as you were covered under your spouse's FEHB plan any time during the 18 months prior to divorce and are eligible to receive a portion of their annuity or survivor benefit, you're eligible under the Spouse Equity Act to get your own FEHB plan that you can stay on unless and until you remarry before you turn 55. If you remarry after that, your coverage will continue. You can't continue to be covered on your ex-spouse's plan once the divorce is final. (Note that your children can remain on your ex's plan.)

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 Posted on March 07, 2025 in Divorce

One conflict a couple sometimes runs into during a divorce is what to do with the engagement ring. An engagement ring can be a significant investment. Many people spend thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands, on them. As a result, both spouses may see the ring as a very valuable asset, and both may want to have it when the marriage ends.

What happens to the ring often depends on when the relationship ends. Generally, courts look at engagement rings as , where the condition is that the couple gets married. The only reason that this expensive gift was offered in the first place was due to the request to marry, so that must be honored in order for the transfer of the gift to be complete.

How this could affect property division

One couple may be engaged for a few years while they are planning their wedding. But if they break that engagement off before the wedding, then the person who received the ring has not satisfied the condition of marriage. That person is generally expected to return the ring to the person who purchased it.

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 Posted on February 21, 2025 in Divorce

When couples divorce in Virginia, their property is classified as either separate or marital. This distinction can play an important role in determining what each spouse is entitled to, especially when a divorce process is not wholly amicable.

Ultimately, gifts can fall into either category of property, depending on various factors such as who gave the gift, when it was received and how it was used during the marriage.

Separate property vs. marital property

Virginia follows the equitable distribution model, which means that marital property is divided fairly, though not necessarily equally, in the event that property-related disagreements need to be resolved by a judge. Separate property belongs solely to one spouse and is generally not subject to division. Marital property, on the other hand, generally has been acquired during the marriage and typically belongs to both spouses.

Gifts can be considered separate property if:

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 Posted on February 06, 2025 in Child Custody

Parenting a teenager is not an easy task, and co-parenting a teenager is often even more challenging than parenting solo or parenting alongside a child's other parent. Unlike most younger children, teens are striving for independence, developing their own opinions, and juggling school, extracurricular activities and social lives. They may also be more skilled at - consciously or subconsciously - playing one co-parent against the other in an effort to get what they want or need.

Thankfully, regardless of what your family's unique circumstances may be, if you co-parent your teen with your ex, there are some tried and true strategies that you can employ to more successfully approach your situation. While each of these tips is far easier "said than done," being thoughtful about implementing them in ways that work for your family can be helpful.

Prioritize communication

To the extent that this is possible, engaging in open and consistent communication with your co-parent is important. For starters, teens are often busy, and last-minute changes to their schedules are common. Both parents should be appropriately flexible and willing to adjust plans as needed.

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 Posted on January 31, 2025 in Child Custody

Co-parenting is already a challenge, but when one parent works night shifts, creating a fair and workable parenting schedule requires extra planning. Jobs like healthcare, law enforcement, transportation and manufacturing often require overnight work, making traditional parenting schedules difficult to follow. However, it is possible for co-parents can develop a plan that provides stability and quality time for both parents and children alike.

Parents who work overnight face unique co-parenting difficulties that should be taken into account when they are creating a parenting time schedule. These challenges may include:

• Limited Availability: A parent who works at night may sleep during the day, reducing their ability to spend daytime hours with their child
• Inconsistent Schedules: If the night shifts rotate or vary, it can be difficult to maintain a consistent routine

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 Posted on January 19, 2025 in Divorce

Divorce can very quickly become a contentious process. Spouses disagree about a reasonable and fair way to divide their resources and their parental rights and responsibilities. They may need to go to court to have a judge resolve their disputes with one another.

The process can become substantially more difficult to complete if one spouse needs to prove that the other is to blame for the divorce. Even in cases where adultery, abuse and other types of misconduct inspire a divorce filing, the person pursuing divorce may hope to file for a no-fault divorce.

Are no-fault divorces an option in Virginia?

No-fault divorce is possible in Virginia

The good news for spouses hoping to pursue a no-fault divorce filing in Virginia is that the state absolutely allows for no-fault divorces. The bad news is that the process is not necessarily fast.

The only no-fault grounds available for divorce in Virginia is a lengthy separation of the spouses. Spouses need to live apart from one another for at least six months to be eligible for a no-fault divorce based on separation. In cases where there are minor children still living with parents who wish to divorce, the separation must last for at least a year for the spouses to qualify for a no-fault divorce.

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 Posted on January 09, 2025 in Child Custody

All family law cases are different. Despite this, the court applies some key principles to all cases.

For custody matters, the deciding factor is the best interests of the child. What does this mean in practice?

Determining the child's best interests in Virginia

Several factors contribute to the best interest of the child. Some notable points include:

• The child's age and health condition: The court will assess the child's needs based on their age and whether or not they require any special care.

• Whether parents can meet these needs: The court will assess the bond each parent has with their child. They will also consider the financial stability of each parent and their home environment.

• The child's preferences: In some cases, the child's preferences may be considered. However, the child must be mature enough to express a reasoned opinion and this is not the deciding factor.

• The child's routine: Generally, the court prefers to keep the child in a stable routine. This includes attending the same school if possible and living in the same neighborhood.

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 Posted on December 24, 2024 in Divorce

Sometimes, one of the most time-consuming (and often stressful) chores of divorce is deciding who gets what. We're not talking about the house or the bank accounts, but the "stuff" that a couple has accumulated over years of marriage.

As one or both spouses move into another home, they will need to buy everything from furniture to dishware. If they'll be co-parenting children, they'll need to make sure they have a fully furnished room and possibly their own bathroom in each one.

Divorce registries aren't just for women

The more time a couple spends fighting over who gets the top-of-the-line coffee maker and the bookcases, the less time they have to focus on the larger assets and other divorce matters. That's one reason why divorce registries have become increasingly popular. While they were initially marketed to women who are used to bridal and baby registries, they've gradually attracted men.

The divorce registry Fresh Starts lets people choose "bundles" of essentials as well as room bundles so that friends and family can help them furnish or stock a child's room, kitchen, living room or home office. Major retailers like Amazon also let people create registries for any occasion - including divorce.

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