Some people think it strange to hear an attorney talk about the benefits of staying out of court. But in child custody and visitation cases, one must consider the risks and costs associated with litigation, and also the possible benefits of resolving the case by agreement. See Ken Hodge’s Article

Virginia Code Section 20-124.2(B) provides: “In determining custody, the court shall give primary consideration to the best interests of the child. The court shall assure minor children of frequent and continuing contact with both parents, when appropriate, and encourage parents to share in the responsibilities of rearing their children. As between the parents, there shall […]

Virginia’s judicial system for deciding issues of child Custody, Visitation, child support, and spousal support can be somewhat confusing to those not familiar with it. Virginia has a dual court system called “concurrent jurisdiction”, in which both the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (the J&DR Court) and the Circuit Court have the authority to

SHOULD I TRY TO RESOLVE MY CHILD CUSTODY/VISITATION DISPUTE OUTSIDE OF COURT? There are many reasons to consider settling your child custody or visitation case by agreement instead of resorting to the Courts. Some people feel that going to Court is the only way that they will ever see a fair result in their child

It is a question that most Virginia divorce and child custody attorneys have been asked on many occasions. The fact is, under Virginia child custody law, there is no “magic age” at which the child gets to make the decision as to which parent will have custody of him or her. In fact, the child

Ken Hodge has outlined some important distinctions between spousal support and child support in his recent article, “Underatand the Differences Between Spousal Support and Child Support.” Please click the link above to review the article and feel free to post your comments.

Every client who either receives or pays child support and spousal support (and certainly every lawyer handling a support case) needs to understand the interplay between these two very different types of support under Virginia law. The basic concepts are simple: spousal support is counted as income to the recipient for child support purposes.

Most folks approaching a divorce or marital separation for the first time are generally aware that there may be support obligations from one spouse to the other, particularly when children are involved. But often people are not fully informed of the important differences between “spousal support”, or what used to be called “alimony”, and “child

Many people experiencing divorce for the first time are surprised to learn that property that they owned prior to the marriage–even property that has remained solely titled to them throughout the marriage—may be considered partially or entirely “marital” property by the court in the divorce. Once the property is deemed “marital”, it is subject to

Many, if not most, people involved in a hotly contested marital separation or divorce case are very focused on the bad behavior of their spouse during the marriage. Whether the other spouse committed adulterty, was cruel or abusive, or simply “dropped out” of the marriage for no good reason, many divorce litigants will direct a

Ken Hodge has written an article outlining how separate property, i.e., property owned by one spouse prior to the marriage, can be treated by the Court as marital property to the extent that it increased in value during the marriage. (Read the article here)This is an aspect of Virginia divorce law that many clients find […]

Many people experiencing divorce for the first time are surprised to learn that property that they owned prior to the marriage–even property that has remained solely titled to them throughout the marriage—may be considered partially or entirely “marital” property by the court in the divorce. Once the property is deemed “marital”, it is subject to

In 2017, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) brought about major changes in how military retirement benefits are divided in Virginia divorce. Prior to the enactment of this law, state courts were not required by the federal government to follow a particular methodology in dividing a servicemember’s military retirement. The typical method of dividing military […]

For military members and their spouses, one of the most important questions that confronts them in their marital separation and divorce case is how the military member’s Disposable Retired Pay (DRP) will be addressed by the Court in the divorce. The simple answer is that, to the extent that a servicemember’s “creditable service” was earned