You know what they say: in life, only two things are certain - death and taxes. Taxes are, of course, an important part of a divorce, especially for married couples with children. When filing taxes, parents receive a Child Tax Credit, providing financial relief for the financial burden of raising children. When parents are divorced, only one of them will receive the Credit. So who gets it, and why? The Child Tax Read More

Protective Orders are legal orders issued by a Judge to protect the health and safety of someone who has been abused or who has been threatened in a way that would lead a person to be concerned about future abuse. When you are in danger, timely obtaining a Protective Order is of the highest importance. The entry of a Protective Order can restrict the abusive party from being physically near the victim or interacting Read More

The holidays can be wonderful and magical for children, but stressful and frantic for adults. Divorced parents often say that the biggest adjustment at first was being spread across two households for the holidays. While it is easy to focus on how different things are, the most important thing is to focus on making your children happy and enjoying the time you get to spend with them. When it comes to the holiday Read More

There are many decisions that must be made in a divorce. Who gets to keep the house? Who gets to keep the car? How are the bank accounts divided? Is there alimony due? If there are children involved, who gets custody of them? Is there child support owed? Sometimes, there are even disputes over who gets to keep the family pets. If a couple cannot come to a decision amongst themselves on these issues, they will Read More

To file for divorce in Virginia, you have to file under specific “grounds.” We cover the grounds in our Free Resource, Where Do I Start With a Virginia Divorce? Under certain grounds, when you are proving that one party is at fault in the divorce, you can file immediately. This applies to situations where one spouse has been deserted by the other (abandonment/desertion) or has to leave to protect their own safety Read More

Spousal support laws have remained static for decades - until recently. Spousal support payments, also known as alimony, are regularly paid by a higher-earning spouse to their lesser-earning partner following a divorce. The purpose of alimony is to allow spouses who earn less money to still live the lifestyle they were accustomed to during their marriage. In 2019, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts significantly altered the Read More

At Rinehart Bryant, PLLC, we know that the most important questions to parents who are going through a divorce revolve around the well-being of their children. Most parent’s first thought is: who will the children live with? While all states have different methods of determining child custody, Virginia’s method relies on considering what is in the best interest of the child. In Virginia, contested child custody Read More