Tag: Atty. Valerie E. Anias

Discovery is a term used to describe the process that permits each party to obtain evidence related to their case. It usually takes place shortly after a plaintiff files his or her complaint. Maryland rules allow for different forms of discovery. The two most common forms of discovery are Requests for Answers to Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents.

Some legal terms you’ll want to know! You’ve gotten divorced or filed suit for custody and support, the judge made his or her determination and you received a court order outlining that decision.  What happens when one person decides not to listen?   What happens if one person loses their job? Circumstances change especially for those families who divorced while their children were young.

A servicemember’s retirement pay is considered marital property. Depending on the length of the marriage and the court’s order, a percentage of the marital portion of the retirement pay is reserved for the former spouse upon the servicemember’s retirement. Due to a recent Supreme Court decision, a former spouse may now lose a significant amount of their awarded percentage of the servicemember’s retirement pay.

A source of worry and concern for many clients involve what to expect when they go to court for their divorce. What will spouse’s attorney ask me? What dirty laundry is going to be aired? What will the judge decide?

A guide to the perplexed When couples get divorced they are required to identify marital property and non-marital property. Many individuals don’t know what makes property marital and therefore, how they may unintentionally make a non-marital asset marital.

An alternative  to courts Sometimes costly litigation can be avoided with mediation. Especially in family law related matters, mediation could be key to ensure that the issues involving your family are decided by your family. Mediation is a process of resolving disputes outside of the courtroom. A third-party neutral, often a lawyer or retired judge, will attempt to facilitate fruitful conversations between the parties to find common ground, highlight that ground, and hopefully create an environment which will lend itself to a settlement. An important factor of mediation is that it is not the mediator’s job to create the settlement. […]

Calculating child support and modifying child support are two difficult concepts that tend to invoke a bit of confusion. To simplify and define each, this article first discusses how child support is calculated and then how child support can be modified.

When law enforcement, government agencies, and people generally think of domestic abuse an image of a heterosexual couple is immediately cast. It’s traditionally assumed that the abuser is the male partner and the victim is the female partner. The ugly truth is that domestic violence occurs at similar rates among LGBTQ as heterosexual people. According to 2012 Center for American Progress study, one in four same-sex couples have experienced domestic violence– the same for heterosexual females.

Everyone has the right to marry which means everyone also has the right to divorce. The divorce process for same-sex couples is identical to that of a heterosexual couple. And for each family there are different circumstances, causes, and results that lead them to divorce. A divorcing couple falls into to broad categories: divorcing with an agreement or divorcing with a judge order.

Second Parent Adoption “Do I really need to file for a Second Parent Adoption?” Yes. Couples frequently contact me and ask whether it’s really necessary to file for the adoption, considering they’re married and their child was born during the marriage. The unfortunate answer is yes, it is necessary.