On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Child Custody on Friday, May 18, 2012
Sometimes when child custody is being determined, it is between two unwed parents. These parents may not even know much about each other. So, the possibility of them working together may seem hopeless. Many times, the father will be forced to pay the mother for child support, that the mother will get full or near full child custody. This means the father might not get the chance to be a part of that child's life.
It can sometimes be that one parent simply doesn't have the knowledge or the ability to be a co-parent, meaning they share parenting responsibilities. Sometimes one parent might fight with addiction or another might be unemployed. In these cases, the parents might want to be a part of their child's life, but might not have the means to do so. A new trial program in another state is helping parents learn to co-parent and supplying them with the resources to make a better life for them and their child.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Divorce on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Military families sacrifice a lot to ensure the safety of our country. Their family members serve long terms overseas, and sometimes multiple tours of duty. All of this time apart is sure to strain relationships and be hard for soldiers to adjust to after they return home. While most people will try to help soldiers get acclimated to home life after they return, sometimes things will just never be the same.
Relationships change and people and families develop while the soldier is away on duty. Changes might be hard for both the military member and their spouse to adjust to after the soldier comes home from abroad. Because of wars that have taken place over the past decade, the military divorce rate has increased and surpassed the civilian rate. This means more military families might be having a harder time readjusting their marriage after a deployment.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Prenuptial Agreements on Friday, May 11, 2012
Many people are under the impression that prenuptial agreements are for people who don't have faith in their marriage. While prenups do acknowledge that a divorce is possible, they are not about planning for when a person gets a divorce but help plan for in case it happens. They can provide assurances for both people for what happens if they decide the marriage isn't working out.
With a divorce rate over 50 percent in the Unites States, it is important to have measures in place so a couple knows exactly what will happen if they split up. A prenuptial agreement helps accomplish that. While not everyone might need a prenuptial agreement they can work well for many couples.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Child Custody on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
When two people are going through a divorce, emotions are tense, and sometimes a soon-to-be ex-spouse will stop at nothing to win full custody of your children. While divorce and deciding child custody can be a stressful process, many times it can be worked out in the legal system. However, more and more people are taking things into their own hands, trying to obtain unfavorable evidence against their ex.
Some people have even started using spy equipment to try to record conversations between one parent and their children. While this might seem extreme, sometimes this information is taken into consideration, but sometimes it has a backfire effect. There are many different ways this evidence could influence a divorce or child custody in the Fairfax area so it is important to always discuss these ideas with an attorney, and talk to your attorney about what to do if you find a recording device.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Divorce on Friday, May 4, 2012
The Washington, D.C., area is a fishbowl like few others. The microscope that gets turned toward the dealings of the movers and shakers in the nation's capital is global in scope and tends to attract much more of the attention of average people than might be the case in other cities. Virginia family law attorneys know the necessity of being sensitive to desires for discretion.
Reality television is not an ally of discretion. A case in point could well be the short-lived Bravo franchise series, "The Real Housewives of DC." Many readers may be familiar with the ongoing divorce proceedings of Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Due to its prominence in the news, we have seen fit to write about the case of this reality show couple ourselves.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in International Family Law on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Considering how all cultures seem to profess to hold the integrity of the family sacred, it may come as a shock to readers that there are so many cases of one divorced parent choosing to take off with the children over the objections of the other. Such actions make for very complex cases. And attorneys in Virginia experienced in international family law know such cases only become more complex when the children are taken to a foreign country.
An example of how difficult matters can get is offered in the case of the Palestinian father who moved his three children from the United States to his home in Gaza. According to media reports, he was granted custody of the children when the couple divorced in 2008. She was granted visitation rights. Under terms of their decree, the father was forbidden from moving the children out of the country unless he had their mother's OK.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Divorce on Thursday, April 26, 2012
What a difference a deadline can make. One day before a very high profile divorce case was slated to go to trial, the warring parties went before the judge to announce they had reached a settlement. It's a case that could never have gone unnoticed by attentive family law practitioners in Virginia and other states.
The details of the case reflect the reality that when marriages end there can be a great many delicate issues that need to be addressed in order for successful resolution to be reached. When the parties involved are both of an economic standing that puts them in the ranks of the 1 percent, questions about possible hidden assets, property division, child custody and support generally become more complex.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Prenuptial Agreements on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The celebrity press is abuzz with word that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are now officially engaged. Never mind that they have been a pair in residence since 2005 and have six children. They confirm they're going to get married. The question posed from this corner of Virginia is whether they will draft a prenuptial agreement.
There are those who might say that such a thing isn't necessary. But there is a huge reason why a prenuptial agreement would make sense. With this couple's earning power as high as it is, there are particular legal consequences that could flow from their formally saying "I do."
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Child Custody on Friday, April 20, 2012
Child custody issues are among the most delicate that need to be addressed when divorce is being sought. Virginia-based family law practitioners know that the concerns parents have over whether they'll be able to maintain their role in a child's upbringing can come to dominate a case. Care is required to achieve intelligent, effective settlement of child custody issues.
A situation that comes to us out of another state offers an example of the lengths that estranged spouses may go to in order to press their case. In addition to ongoing wrangling regarding child custody, the husband in this case is suing his ex-wife for allegedly planting a bugging device in their 9-year-old son's clothing to collect damaging information.
On behalf of Schwartz & Associates, LLC posted in Family Law on Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The divorce saga of Tareq and Michaele Salahi continues to unfold. The Virginia couple became media celebrities by crashing a White House state dinner in November 2009. They've been going at each other since she filed for divorce in December.
Last week, Michaele Salahi realized some gains in her legal battle. A circuit court judge dismissed a $50 million lawsuit filed by Tareq Salahi against his estranged wife. At the same time, the judge allowed an $850,000 countersuit that she filed against him to stand. The duel shows how complex family law issues can become, especially as they can relate to marital property matters.
