The VLW Blog

A wife wins her appeal and attorney’s fees after her husband violated their PSA by failing to name her as a beneficiary of his military survivor benefit plan, the Virginia Court of Appeals said today. Its decision in Nelson v. Nelson was one of three divorce cases decided today by unpublished opinion. A Fairfax Circuit [...]

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Call it a double benchslap. A Virginia Court of Appeals panel Tuesday delivered a scathing opinion that takes both lawyers to task in a bitter and widely publicized divorce case involving a couple with both legal and political connections. The opinion in Griffin v. Griffin again thrusts into public view the protracted divorce proceedings of [...]

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Northern Virginia’s most famous jilted husband claims his wife’s backstage liaison with rock musician Neal Schon (left) was part of a scheme to revive interest in the guitarist and his touring rock band, Journey. Tareq Salahi has amplified the allegations of his divorce action against his wife, Michaele, with a new lawsuit seeking $50-million in [...]

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The couple who gained notoriety after crashing a White House state dinner have once again filed for divorce. Pleadings filed by both sides in the breakup of the celebrated Salahis of Warren County offer accusations of abuse and adultery, including details of Michaele’s backstage encounter with rock guitarist Neal Schon. The Northern Virginia Daily has [...]

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Update 2010/08/24, 9:20 a.m. While Dennis Belcher’s expertise in handling big-dollar arrangements for families no doubt played a role in the firm’s representation of Elin Nordegren in her divorce from Tiger Woods, there’s a more direct connection. Nordegren’s twin sister, Josefin Lonnborg, is an associate in MW’s London office. McGuireWoods LLP is one of the [...]

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If a divorce lawyer suspects he screwed up a settlement agreement, should he quick call his carrier? Or should he try to make amends and just hope he won’t be served? It depends. What did the lawyer know, when did he know it, and what did he do about it? Decisions about notice of claim [...]

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“Cohabitation clauses” commonly show up in divorcing couples’ PSAs. Nobody wants to keep paying support to a spouse who has moved on and moved in with somebody else. But such cohabitation clauses are not necessarily “self-executing,” as the Court of Appeals reminds us today in Stroud v. Stroud. The property settlement agreement between Joseph and [...]

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A press conference outside a California divorce courtroom turns into a shouting match. When one of the clients is Hulk Hogan, perhaps it’s not surprising.  The video is on TMZ, natch.

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What does it take for a dissatisfied divorce client to sue his lawyer? His own opinion may be enough. A husband unhappy with the outcome of his case responded to his lawyer’s bill with a claim for legal malpractice. The lawyer said that without an expert witness, the client had no case. The defendant, James [...]

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That’s what the Virginia Court of Appeals said this week to a Fairfax couple who divorced in 2006 but still managed to accumulate a 6,000-page, 19-volume joint appendix in their 2008 appeal. Jeffrey and Lynette Fadness married in 1980 and reared three children to adulthood. Jeffrey appealed last year, then appealed again, complaining that the [...]

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