In most cases, your attorney’s fees are the direct result of the time he/she spends on your case. Thus, saving your attorney time should save you money. Here are some tips:

• Consolidate multiple questions into a single communication – email or phone call – as opposed to several individual emails or calls.

• Prepare for all meetings with your attorney and come with multiple copies of all requested information. Provide your attorney with neat and organized responses to his/her requests.

• Provide your attorney with written summaries of events and lists of important information such as account numbers and contact information of key figures.

• Where possible, utilize your attorney’s legal assistant and paralegal.

Yes. Family law is complex and the issues at stake are important. For example:

• Who will have custody of my children?

• When will I be able see my children and under what terms?

• How much support, if any, will I have to pay for my children?

• How much support, if any, will I have to pay my spouse? Or, how much support might I receive?

• How will property such as my house or business be divided?

• Has marital fault such as adultery or cruelty been committed?

• How does marital fault impact my divorce?

Your divorce may have a life long impact on you and your children. You owe it to yourself to consult with an experienced family law attorney.

Bring with you any document you want your attorney to review. Typically those documents include evidence of marital fault (e.g. letters, photos, emails relating to adultery, cruelty and desertion for example), the family’s assets (e.g. checking account statements, retirement/investment account states and appraisals for example), and the parties’ incomes (e.g. recent paystubs and tax returns for example). Your attorney should also review all documents you have received from the court and/or opposing counsel. Notes, chronologies, lists and summaries of events you have prepared may also be helpful. When in doubt, bring documents.

You should collect information during your initial consultation. Arrive at your attorney’s office early to complete any paperwork that may be necessary. When you arrive, take note of the firm’s proximity to the courthouse and the number of attorneys there. Does the firm appear organized and well run? Does the attorney have legal assistants and/or paralegals that will be available to help you? During your initial consultation, take note of your attorney’s communication style and demeanor. Are they appropriate for what you intend to accomplish? Does he/she appear knowledgeable and suitably experienced? Explain your situation to your attorney and answer any questions he/she might have for you. Always be honest with your attorney. Inform him/her of any issues you expect your spouse to raise and be clear about your objectives.

From your attorney you should expect a clear evaluation of your matter based upon the law, the attorney’s knowledge and experience. You should also expect well-reasoned advice from your attorney as to how you should proceed to achieve your goals.

You can prepare for your initial consultation by compiling and organizing the documents you would like your attorney to review. Additionally, it is often helpful to creates notes, chronologies and summaries of events; identify and consolidate lists of important dates, names, addresses and account numbers, both to refresh your own recollection and to permit your attorney can easily and quickly digest them. The information collected should also help you generate a list of questions and/or issues you may want your attorney to address during your consultation. In most cases, providing specific information to your attorney will permit him/her to give you more specific answers. Also, carefully consider your budget and decide how much money you are able to spend with your attorney to accomplish your goals.

Most, if not all, states have developed guidelines that help parties establish the appropriate amount of child support. Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia are no exception; each has its own child support guideline. Though the guidelines may vary from state to state, all are based at least in part on the parents' incomes and the expenses and/or needs of the children such as work-related childcare and health insurance costs. Often, the guidelines are set out in a chart-type format that calculates the child support amount as a percentage of the paying parent's income that increases with the number of children being supported and/or number of days that parent spends with the children. Many of these guidelines are also available on-line. The purpose of such guidelines is to aid the judge and parties in determining the appropriate level of support. Judges may deviate from the guidelines when there is good reason to do so. If, for example, one child has higher than average medical expenses, support for that child may be higher. Or, if the judge determines that a parent is voluntarily earning less than he or she could, the judge may impute income to that parent and calculate support using what the parent is capable of earning.

Child support may be modified under certain circumstances, but only through a single method: a formal amendment to the previous support order. The simplest method is for parents to agree to a change and incorporate that change into a court order. When there is no voluntary agreement, however, the party seeking the change must request a court hearing, where each party may present reasons supporting/opposing the modification. In Virginia, for example, a party seeking to modify child support must demonstrate that a “material change in circumstances” has occurred and that a modification of support would be in the child’s best interest. Common material changes in circumstances might include significant increases or decreases in a parent’s income, the cost of work-related childcare or medical insurance, the children’s needs, or number of days a parent spends with the children

Every parent has the basic duty to provide his or her children with the necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. The Commonwealth of Virginia does its part to ensure these necessities are provided by mandating that parents provide financial support for their children. In Virginia, this mandate usually terminates when the child is emancipated (e.g. turns eighteen (18) and graduates high school or turns nineteen (19)), but it can extend beyond that point if the child is unable to support him or herself.

Despite the variations from state to state, there are some general factors that are almost universally considered by judges issuing child support orders, including:

• The child's standard of living before the parents' separation or divorce;

• The paying parent's ability to pay;

• The custodial parent's needs and income; and

• The needs of the child or children, including educational costs, daycare expenses and medical expenses (health insurance or special health care needs)

In Virginia, for example, the follow factors are considered in establishing support:

1. Actual monetary support for other family members or former family members;

2. Arrangements regarding custody of the children, including the cost of visitation travel;

3. Imputed income to a party who is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily under-employed; provided that income may not be imputed to the custodial parent when a child is not in school, child care services are not available and the cost of such child care services are not included in the computation and provided further, that any consideration of imputed income based on a change in a party’s employment shall be evaluated with consideration of the good faith and reasonableness of employment decisions made by the party;

4. Debts of either party arising during the marriage for the benefit of the child;

5. Direct payments ordered by the court for maintaining life insurance coverage pursuant to subsection D, education expenses, or other court-ordered direct payments for the benefit of the child;

6. Extraordinary capital gains such as capital gains resulting from the sale of the marital abode;

7. Any special needs of a child resulting from any physical, emotional, or medical condition;

8. Independent financial resources of the child or children;

9. Standard of living for the child or children established during the marriage;

10. Earning capacity, obligations, financial resources, and special needs of each parent;

11. Provisions made with regard to the marital property under § 20-107.3, where said property earns income or has an income-earning potential

12. Tax consequences to the parties including claims for exemptions, child tax credit, and child care credit for dependent children;

13. A written agreement, stipulation, consent order, or decree between the parties which includes the amount of child support; and

14. Such other factors as are necessary to consider the equities for the parents and children.

There are no hard and fast guidelines for determining either the amount or duration of spousal support in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Certain jurisdictions such as Fairfax County publish temporary (pendente lite) spousal support guidelines, which may be used to calculate support pending a formal, final support. The touchstone consideration for determining whether and how much spousal support may be required is one spouse’s financial need balanced against the other’s ability to pay. If the divorce will leave one spouse with very little income and the other with sufficient income to contribute support, generally the court will award support. In the classic case, spousal support is awarded to a homemaker who has put his/her career on hold for the benefit of the family and paid by the wage-earning spouse who has worked during the marriage and enjoyed the benefit of a steadily increasing income. In short-term marriages of say less than ten (10) years, that assistance may continue for a period equal to one-half the duration of the marriage. That period is loosely calculated to enable the recipient spouse to further his/her education, receive job training and reestablish him/herself in the workforce. For longer term marriages of say fifteen (15) years or more, such rehabilitation may not be possible and support may continue indefinitely. No two parties’ circumstances are the same and thus support amounts and durations tend to vary.

Yes, you are free to accept spousal support in nearly any form you wish. Though accepting regular monthly payments for a specific duration is most common, spouses can agree to one-time, lump sum payments, transfers of assets or payment of certain expenses in lieu of “regular” support. The parties may also agree that the support amount either increase or decrease over time to account for the recipient spouse’s financial needs.

The following are some of the factors the court will consider in order spousal support:

• The earning capacity of each party, including their education, skills and work experience;

• The standard of living established during the marriage;

• The supporting party's ability to pay;

• The parties’ respective contributions to the marriage;

• The needs of each party including the minor children;

• The duration of the marriage; and

• The tax consequences to the parties.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the process of property division is called “equitable distribution.” In that process, the court, with the help of the parties’ attorneys, will identify all of the parties’ property, value it and divide it. Courts consider a number of factors in dividing property, such as:

• The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;

• The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party in the acquisition and care and maintenance of such marital property of the parties;

• The duration of the marriage;

• The ages and physical and mental condition of the parties;

• The circumstances and factors which contributed to the dissolution of the marriage;

• How and when specific items of such marital property were acquired;

• The debts and liabilities of each spouse, the basis for such debts and liabilities, and the property which may serve as security for such debts and liabilities;

• The liquid or nonliquid character of all marital property;

• The tax consequences to each party; and

• The use or expenditure of marital property by either of the parties for a nonmarital separate purpose or the dissipation of such funds, when such was done in anticipation of divorce or separation or after the last separation of the parties.

Marital property is generally considered to be any property acquired during the marriage by either party, regardless of who paid for it.

Separate property is generally considered to be any property that was acquired either prior or subsequent to the parties’ marriage or acquired by separate gift or inheritance during the marriage from anyone other than your spouse. In most cases, you retain your separate property. Under certain circumstances, however, you can transform (“transmute”) separate property into marital property.

The Commonwealth of Virginia recognizes three types of property: separate property, marital property and hybrid property. Generally, in a divorce all of the parties’ respective assets are identified, valued and allocated between the parties. This includes small things such as pots, pans and silverware; larger things such as furniture, cars, boats and planes; and even larger things such as businesses, real estate and retirement/investment accounts.

In many ways, the division of property is nothing more than the division of values. Determining a fair value of your property – whether it’s a closely-held business, an investment/retirement account or your marital home – placing an appropriate value on assets is crucial to achieving a truly equitable division. Attorneys often have the knowledge, experience, and resources (such as access to accountants, business and property appraisers and other professional experts) to help ensure you present a well-reasoned value to the court.

No, there is no presumption in favor of granting custody to the mother.

The court decides all matters of custody and visitation by considering the child’s “best interest.” In this case, the child’s best interest refers to a set of statutory factors that a court must consider, including:

• The child's age;

• The child's gender;

• The child's physical and mental health;

• The parents' physical and mental health;

• The parents' lifestyles;

• Any history of abuse;

• The emotional bonds between the parent and the child;

• The parent's ability to provide the basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing and medical care;

• The willingness of the parent to encourage a healthy, on-going relationship between the child and the other parent;

• If the child is above a certain age, the child's preference; and

• Who has been the child's historic, primary caretaker.

The court will hear evidence supplied by the parties and may refer the case for a custody evaluation. At times, a psychologist, family therapist, counselor or child development specialist may be employed to assist the parties in determining the child’s needs.

Protective orders, also referred to as restraining orders, can dramatically impact both a divorce and child custody action. An abused spouse may seek a civil and/or criminal protective order, which, among other things, may provide temporary child custody and support, and sole use of the marital residence.

The court may grant reasonable visitation or custody to grandparents if it is determined to be in the child’s best interests. Grandparents seeking visitation must give notice to both parents. Generally, grandparent visitation will not be ordered if it conflicts with the rights of custody or visitation of the birth parents.

Legal custody is the right to make “legal decisions” on behalf of a child. Typically, these decisions are made in important areas such as medical care, education and religious training. Legal custody may be joint or sole. If parents have been awarded joint legal custody, decisions must be shared unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Yes.

Sometimes, it is difficult for a spouse to identify all of the assets that may be subject to valuation and division. A lawyer can seek out this information using the “discovery” process. Your lawyer has a number of tools in that process. For example, your lawyer can file Interrogatories, which are formal written questions that your spouse must answer in writing under oath. Your lawyer can also file Requests for Production of Documents (seeking the production of necessary documents) and Requests for Admissions (seeking admissions as to certain facts of your case). Additionally, your lawyer can file subpoenas to require third-parties to produce documents or appear to be question during a deposition. Your lawyer can also depose your spouse.

The date of separation is determined by the date either party separates from the other with the intent and for the purpose of obtaining a divorce. Often, that date coincides with the date one spouse vacates the marital home. However, the parties may participate in an in-house separation, provided they make certain efforts to live separate and apart within that home.

To file for divorce either you or your spouse must be a resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth of Virginia for at least six (6) months immediately preceding the filing of the Complaint.

Virginia recognizes a number of grounds for divorce. The “no fault” grounds and “fault grounds.”

There are two “no fault” grounds for divorce: (i) a six-month separation and signed property settlement agreement where the parties have no minor children; or (ii) a twelve months separation where the parties have minor children.

There are three “fault” grounds for divorce: (i) adultery; (ii) cruelty; and (iii) desertion/abandonment.

Yes, but it would not be wise. You may be found liable for the cost of replacing those items. Moreover, such behavior may motivate negative by your spouse, place you in a negative light in the judge’s eyes, and/or increase your attorney’s fees.

No. If you receive any mail addressed solely to your spouse, it should be forwarded to him/her by you or through your attorney. It is improper (and may be illegal) for you to open your spouse’s password protected email communications.

Unless there has been violence or a serious threat of violence in the relationship, a judge may be hesitant to exclude either spouse from the home without a hearing. After a hearing, however, the judge may order that one party have exclusive use and possession of the residence pending a final disposition of the property.

In addition to using the discovery process to gather information from your spouse, your attorney can issue subpoenas and gather information directly from third-parties such as employers and financial institutions. Additionally, investigators and experts may be employed to gather and analyze other information. For example, forensic accountants and computer forensics experts are two common experts employed in divorce matters.

Yes, but in most cases you will have to provide your spouse with at least thirty (30) days prior notice of your move. If your spouse objects to you relocating with the child, a hearing may be held to determine whether the relocation would be in the child’s best interests.