Recent Family Law Posts

The financial responsibilities between spouses can sometimes lead to contentious family court disputes. Many couples lack a pre-existing agreement regarding alimony, necessitating either negotiation for an uncontested divorce or litigation, in which case a judge will apply Virginia law to their situation and make a decision. The primary concerns about alimony in Virginia are its duration and the amount one spouse must pay the other. There is no Virginia spousal support calculator. Instead, the specific circumstances of each case and the application of certain factors in the Virginia Code influence the decision about alimony. In cases invol…

Shared custody arrangements bring about various responsibilities and questions. One particular issue that often arises is determining which parent is entitled to claim the child for tax benefits. This question, while seemingly simple, is surrounded by legal stipulations that can have significant implications. That is to say, making an incorrect decision can lead to financial repercussions and may also complicate co-parenting arrangements. Such complications can inadvertently impact the stability and structure essential to the child’s development. Determining ahead of time who claims a child on taxes with 50/50 custody, then, is imperative….

If you have a child out of wedlock, your custody rights might depend on which parent you are. You need parental rights to build a relationship with your child. Fighting for custody in a divorce is difficult enough, but custody disputes can also occur among unmarried parents. You may be able to work out a custody arrangement with the other parent. If not, you must get a court order establishing custody of the child. The process can be even more complicated if you are not on the child’s birth certificate. You might need to establish proof of paternity through a DNA test before you can seek child custody rights. Are you an unwed parent worrie…

A divorce is a life changing event, especially if you have children. You need to properly lay the groundwork before the process starts so it might go more smoothly and faster. Given how expensive it is to live in the Fairfax, Virginia, area, planning ahead financially is very important. Here are some suggestions on preparing for a divorce. Do you need a divorce? Decide if this is something you really want to do. Is there no hope for your relationship? Counseling may be worth a try. Once the divorce process starts it may be difficult, if not impossible, to try to get the relationship back on track. Talk to an attorney. Learn about your lega…

Attorneys Susan Butler, Roberta Henault and Molly Garrett recently attended a program hosted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers regarding New Developments in Military Pension Division presented by Col. Mark E. Sullivan (Retired). The program explored military pension division guidelines from past, present and future. Topics discussed included the recent changes to how military pensions are divided as part of a divorce due to the new amendments to the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (i.e. ‘Frozen Benefit Rule’), the new prohibition against Courts from ordering indemnification when the retiree’s election of VA …

By: Danubia Arias, Paralegal A paralegal is not allowed to give legal advice because it would be considered unauthorized practice of law. The unauthorized practice of law is rendering services that require the professional judgment of lawyers. While a paralegal may well know the answer to a specific legal question or understand different legal documents, he or she does not have a law degree, has not passed a bar exam, and is not regulated by the State Bar Association. To the average client, it is not always clear what is or is not legal advice. Legal advice is telling or advising a client what they should do in a certain situation and it …

Does poor treatment of a stepchild make a difference in divorce-related property division decisions? According to the Court of Appeals, it does. In a recent appellate case, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a trial court’s decision to consider a man’s poor treatment of his stepdaughter a “negative non-monetary contribution,” which allowed his ex-wife to get a larger portion of their shared property, according to Virginia Lawyers Weekly (VLV). The appellate decision was made yesterday in Crater v. Crater, a case out of Carroll County, Virginia. According to the details concerning the case, the man’s wife already had a young daughter w…

A new study published by the University of Chicago found that a large percentage of Americans are now meeting their spouses online, and that spouses who meet online are generally happier and less likely to divorce than those who meet “offline.” In particular, the study found that “more than a third of marriages between 2005 and 2012 began online,” compared to just nineteen percent, as measured in 2008. The study determined that the longevity and satisfaction rate of “online” marriages was also higher than those resulting from off-line encounters. Interestingly, marriages that resulted from meetings at bars or blind dates faired the worst …

Currently, under Virginia law it is illegal for unmarried persons to “lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together.” The law, which was originally passed in 1877, is one of only four state laws still in place in the United States barring such conduct. Although rarely enforced, it still renders unmarried cohabitation a criminal offense punishable by a fine and, for repeated offenses, up to one year in jail. Virginia law also allows individuals, who are unmarried and live together, or have lived together in the past year, with another person, to obtain a protective order against the other person, when that individual is a victim o…

Today, people are keenly aware that the internet is a repository for senstive personal information. Whenever a person uses the internet – whether for banking, Facebook, Amazon, email, or Google Chat – that person creates an electronic profile for which information is retained, often indefinitely. Despite the public’s awareness of the permanency and lack of privacy of internet information, people often unwittingly continue to create caches of senstive information on websites, which could be used against them in divorce cases. A recent American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers survey, reported by PRNewswire, shows that more than half of t…

For married couples who own businesses together, the prospect of divorce raises complicated legal and economic issues related to those businesses. However, while divorce may dissolve a marriage, it does not necessarily need to spell the end of a married couple’s business venture. According to a 2007 Census Bureau estimate, cited in a recent New York Times article, about 3.7 million businesses were owned by married persons in the United States. This article goes on to highlight a number of separated or divorced couples, including two attorneys, who decided to continue working together and operate their businesses, despite their marital dif…

Welcome to the ShounBach Blog, your source for information relating to family law practice in Northern Virginia. This holiday season has fortunately been marked by indications of local and national economic improvement. Although Northen Virginia has been more immune to the Great Recession than other areas of the country, its residents have still experienced their share of economic strain. According to a report by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, the Great Recession has influenced fewer married persons to divorce since the economic downturn began. Now, according to a recent Washington Post article, because the e…