Congratulations!  You just finished your mediation session and reached an agreement.  You may feel relieved that the pressure is over or excited that you have found a way to move forward in your life without the stress over litigation.  You may feel regretful that you didn’t get exactly what you were looking for when you first met with your attorney or filed the petition.  You may be wondering “ What if….”

After an accident, most of us just want to put the whole thing behind us! But how do we move on with so many bills?  A simple trip to the emergency room may result in five or six medical bills:  the ambulance, the hospital, the emergency room doctor, the radiologist and the prescriptions.  What can you do?  How can these bills be paid? 

Another term that does not appear in West Virginia law is “50/50.”  In this post I will describe the problem that arises when parents focuses on a 50/50 split of time between households.  To many “50/50” sounds fair—100% of the time the child’s time is split equally between the parents.  However, slashing the child’s time precisely in half may be “fair” to the parents, but harmful to the child.  In developing a parenting plan, parents who are more interested in the well-being of the children may want to change the focus from the question, “What makes this look fair to me?” to the question, “What schedule can we develop to best meet the needs of our child?”    

You won’t find terms such as “full custody” or “50-50” or “Schedule A visitation” in West Virginia's child custody statutes.  Rather, you’ll find provisions that allow for parents to work hard to create decision making processes and schedules that are tailored to meet the best interests of their child.   Parents who are separating should consider the options provided by mediation and collaborative law in deciding what is best for their children.  Our office provides mediation services and accepts custody matters when the parents are committed to collaborative processes to develop the parenting plan that is best for their child. 

Whether your are injured in an accident, are a victim of crime, or looking for a way to co-parent your children after divorce, selecting a lawyer to help you can be difficult.  With offices in Martinsburg, Charles Town and Washington DC, we provide broad based legal services to families who are looking for a way to restore wellness in their lives.  Our office provides litigation services in select cases, but we are also certified to provide collaborative law representation in West Virginia and the District of Columbia.  Brenda is also a certified mediator in both Virginia and West Virginia. 

Victims are often overwhelmed following a crime.  Victims may be faced with a lot of questions and not many answers.  How will my bills get paid?  Do I have to attend the court hearing?  Who will represent me?  What if I don't want the case to be prosecuted?  Our office accepts cases in West Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland and can help victims find some of these answers.  Brenda has worked as a prosecutor, defense counsel and holds a master's degree with an emphasis in Restorative Justice.  

Many times parents believe that the child should have a chance to articulate their opinion in a divorce or child custody case. Many courts prefer that their opinions be addressed through the appointment of a specially trained lawyer, or a Guardian Ad LItem, who may interview the child outside of the courtroom.  Another option is to include children in mediation.  While this option should be employed sparingly, for some families it might serve to empower the children and bring the family closer.  Only a specially trained mediator, often working with a child specialist, can assess the situation and determine whether or not the child's participation is beneficial.  Our office accepts cases in West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia and can work with families to determine the best mediation structure for you.

If you are wanting to get a divorce in West Virginia, but cannot afford a lawyer or prefer to file your case without a lawyer, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has created an excellent resource on their website that can provide you with all of the documents you need to file for divorce.   The website also has paperwork and forms to file to change child support.

Mediation requires a different physical space than a law office.  Even collaborative law needs to be practiced in an environment that is more about talking and less about creating paper.  Our office is in the middle of a transformation from an office that was something like a machine, creating calendars, pleadings and correspondence. Our new Charles Town office is going to be less machine-like and will allow for the type of patient communication that both mediation and collaborative law require.  

When parents are divorcing after an affair, what should they tell the children?  Based on a talk given by Dr. Debra M. Nackman, Ph.D., to the DCACP, these guidelines may assist parents, working with a conflict coach or mental health professional, in addressing the issue with the children.  My offices in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and the District of Columbia provide mediation and collaborative law services to families who are addressing issues of divorce, child custody and seeking a more peaceful means to resolve the conflicts that emerge during these periods.

I am on my way to Morgantown to attend a symposium focusing on Prisons in Appalachia.  I will be joining a fabulous roundtable discussion on Restorative Justice and Alternative Sentencing tomorrow morning featuring Judge Michael Aloi, Jacqueline Roebuck Sacko, Jim Nolan and Valena Beety.  In my portion of the session I’ll be providing a bit of an introduction to restorative justice.

Can you represent yourself in court? It depends! Some matters are simple and litigants can find the resources that they need to go to court without a lawyer. In other situations, you should never go to court without a lawyer to guide you through the process. Brenda Waugh provides legal and mediation services in Virginia and West Virginia and can help you decide when you need a lawyer and what process—litigation or mediation may be best suited for your legal problem.

If you have never participated in mediation, you may wonder what’s involved. While every situation is different, there are a few things you can expect regardless of the type of case or mediator.  Our office accepts cases for mediation including elder mediation, family mediation, divorce mediation, child custody mediation, civil mediation and mediation of insurance disputes.  With offices in Washington DC and West Virginia, we are available to answer your questions and help you to evaluate how mediation may help you resolve your case faster and more economically than litigation.

We are experiencing a cold snap in the DC area.  Please be careful!  But if you are injured, be sure to take it easy, recover fully and follow these guidelines before your settle your personal injury matter involving the fall.  

Starting a divorce does not have to mean starting a war. Whether you are in Virginia or West Virginia we provide collaborative law and mediation to help you find a win-win resolution.

When you are considering divorce, be sure to consider both mediation and collaborative law as options. Both of these options are usually healthier for your family and tend to be less costly than litigation. With offices in Leesburg, Virginia, Charles Town, West Virginia and Washington DC, Brenda Waugh can provide you with mediation or legal services and help you to weigh the costs and benefits of the various processes available.