Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes 40 seconds When families break apart in a divorce, many parents do not know where to turn to get help.  Divorce lawyer?  Divorce mediator?  What is best when it comes to planning for children when their parents are getting a divorce? Here is some information to help you choose what route to take: Parents must decide whether they want the fate of their children’s upbringing to be made within the family unit (by mom and dad) or by a judge.

Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes 50 seconds Starting Jan 1, 2019, the long-standing tax rules associated with alimony have significantly changed, and alimony is no longer tax deductible by the payer; nor is it taxable to the receiver. The new law, however, does not apply retroactively.

Estimated Reading Time: 3 min 30 sec  When a marriage comes to an end, people are often so deeply hurt that they feel they will never be able to forgive the other person and figure out how to move on after divorce. Not being able to forgive, though, is not the end of the world.

Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes 30 seconds A Marital Settlement Agreement and MSA is a contract between a married couple that sets out the terms of how they will move forward in their lives, both during their separation and after divorce. A signed PSA will be the biggest part of your divorce.

Estimated Reading Time: 13 Minutes  How Do Virginia Courts & Mediators View Equitable Distribution When a Husband and Wife Commingle Separate (Non-Marital) and Marital Property? In Virginia divorce law, there is a lot of confusion when it comes to the division and distribution of property[1] when the divorcing couple does not agree on whether that property is “marital property”, “separate property” or a combination thereof (known as “hybrid property”). This confusion is unfortunate because how property is classified is extremely important in terms of what is on and what is off limits to Virginia judges when they make their “taketh and giveth” decisions.

Estimated Reading Time: 2 min 50 sec  Divorce is a shock to the system even if getting divorced was your idea. When it finally becomes a reality that your marriage is ending, it is common to feel even more unbalanced than your spouse in coping with divorce emotions.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes 25 seconds Writing good Divorce Settlement Agreements—particularly when children are involved—blends two divergent, yet complementary, styles: (1) great specificity, and (2) an openness that allows for the inevitable changes that families go through as their kids grow up.

3 min 45 sec read People get divorced for so many reasons -- feeling alone in the marriage, infidelity, loss of intimacy and companionship, financial stress, or simply feeling like you're wrong for each another. Whatever the reasons, there is no underestimating how difficult the divorce process is and how gruesome the divorce pain and stress can be.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes 20 seconds It Happens Fast When you are negotiating the custody & visitation portion of your Divorce Settlement Agreement, you will need to keep teenagers in mind, even if your children are still very young.  As any parent of a teenager will tell you, your kids will become young adults before you know it.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes THE DEFINITION of EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION – NOT 50%/50% Equitable Distribution is the legal term for how judges, in Virginia (and 39 other states), divide and distribute property and debt in a divorce.  “Equitable” means “fair”, not “equal”. . .  so you know you are in some tricky territory right there.