When going through a custody and visitation case; whether it is part of a divorce or not, the court will generally appoint what is called a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). This person is an attorney who has taken special training who is being assigned to…

Sometimes co-parents are able to work out terms and schedules that work for them and their family, without having the court involved. In these cases we are often asked – “Do I still need an attorney?” It’s always advisable to have an attorney revi…

In contentious custody and visitation matters, the court may order parties to use a third party messaging application or other software to track their correspondence. When evidence has shown high conflict and issues of communication between parent…

Families with individuals with exceptional needs will face additional challenges in navigating separation and divorce. Some challenges the courts are equipped to handle, and others are severely lacking. In an ordinary custody and visitation case, …

In 2021 Virginia voted to move up the legalization of recreational use of marijuana to July 01, 2021. As with most new laws there are a lot of questions about how this will impact our day to day lives and, for those with ongoing custody and visita…

In any family law case, you have the right to certain information from the other party. Whether it’s a divorce, custody, or child support case, your attorney may talk to you about doing “discovery.” The most common forms of discovery are interrog…

Anyone that has gone through a custody or visitation battle in court, or is about to, may have heard the term “status quo.” Status quo, in terms of custody and visitation, means the schedule the parties have been following prior to court. The cou…

In contested family law matters, CPS often gets involved where there are concerns of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of children. CPS takes reports from family members, as well as other members of the community anonymously and for any reason. Most…

Withholding of a child from visitation from their other parent can be a serious factor for the court to consider in any custody or visitation case. In some situations, the court will intervene by either changing custody completely, or by ordering …

What is Family Law? Our firm focuses primarily on the practice areas of family law and estate planning, but often non-lawyers will ask “what is ‘family law’ anyway?” It encompasses a broad spectrum of practice areas from divorce to custody and eve…

Divorce During COVID For couples that were facing separation and divorce before the stay-at-home order, Executive Order 55 added complication to the separation process. In order for couples to divorce based on separation in Virginia, they must hav…

In Executive Order 55, Governor Northam issued a stay-at-home order for all non-essential purposes and limited social gatherings to less than 10 people in Virginia. The order specifically addressed child custody and visitation, stating that indivi…