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Virginia Beach Lawyer Divorce & Legal News Blog

Virginia Beach Lawyer Divorce & Legal News Blog

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Separation Areements

2/25/2010
Jeffrey D. Tarkington, Attorney
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Can I Get The Other Party To Pay For The Divorce?

can I get him to pay for it? The law in Virginia certainly allows the court to make an award of attorney’s fees in favor of either party. It is an issue for the court, it may be done in a preliminary stage of the proceeding or it may have to go forward at a final hearing or in some circumstances, maybe reserved for a hearing after the conclusion of the divorce litigation itself. In the circumstance where the parties have come to an agreement, it is quite common that both parties will agree that they will pay their own attorney’s fees and this is part of the agreement and negotiation process. There is case law in Virginia that reflects that if a party is awarded spousal support that the court should make some provision for the payment of attorney’s fees by the support paying party. That law has been in effect in Virginia for about 30 years and while it has obviously had some bits of pieces and circumstances in which the court found it inappropriate, the general proposition is still good law. The court will usually consider the reasonableness of the parties and whether or not issues that ultimately are litigated have in fact been properly litigated, that is to say that there is such either a complex issue or that the matter has to be dealt with by the court as a matter of complexity that the matter would then have to be determined. If that court makes that finding that the matter needed to be determined by the court, then the court will generally not award either party attorney’s fees. If the court thinks the one party is trying to utilize the system to increase cost or create delay in the process, then the court will be more likely to award the innocent party some portion of their attorney’s fees.

2/19/2009
Charles Hofheimer
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Virginia Women inadverdently sign away million$ to their Husbands !

  1. A  cardinal rule is do not sign anything unless your attorney tells you it’s okay . You do not want to sign any document until  you understand the ramifications of what you’re signing. There are few occasions sadder for a divorce attorney than when a woman comes in and starts talking with you and, all of a sudden, she says, "Oh, I signed an agreement. My husband told me it was just a temporary agreement so I really don’t have to worry about it, do I ?". My heart sinks because I realize that we are going to have to explain a problem she is not anticipating.. She has been hoodwinked, and unfortunately in Virginia, it is very difficult to overturn signed agreements, particularly if she’s initialed each page and signed the last page before a notary.
  2. Should I sign tax returns? If your husband works for a big company and you work for a big company and all you have are W-2 forms and standard deductions, I wouldn’t be too worried about signing a tax return, but if your husband owns a business or there are a number of stock transactions or real estate transactions, absolutely do not sign a tax return or any document without going first to a trusted advisor.
  3.  Should I negotiate with my husband ? My answer is a qualified yes.  If he is trying to negotiate with you,  listen to what he is saying or suggesting.  Do not be so quick to tell him what you want . By keeping him a little off balance rather than telling him everything you want gives you wiggle room in the future.  As you talk things through you will be able to determine whether he is trying to play a power game, fishing for information or is serious about resolving matters. During this time or before, you should be sitting down with a divorce professional to determine what constitutes a reasonable settlement. The ultimate "reasonable" settlement is one where both of you agree on the outcome. DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT FINANCIALLY FOR CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN ! This will come back to haunt you in the future.
  4. Virginia women have signed away millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars of marital funds by not seeking help and understanding their entitlements before they sign a separation agreement. You have plenty of time to arm yourself with useful information by ordering "What Every Virginia Woman Should Know about Divorce" or attending the seminar " What Every Woman Needs to Know about Divorce". 


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