Contributors

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Reckless Driving - A Big Deal

I'm sure many of you are aware of the reckless driving charge in Virginia.  Many of you, however, may not realize the significant impact a reckless driving conviction could have on your life.

To start, you could be charged and convicted of reckless driving based on speed alone.  That means even if you were doing everything else correctly, if you were speeding (over 20 mph over the speed limit or over 80 mph regardless of the posted speed limit), you can be convicted of reckless driving.

With a reckless driving conviction comes, among other things, a possible loss of license, possible jail time, possible thousands of dollars in fines and a misdemeanor conviction on your record.  These results can snowball, for instance, if you then decide to drive while not having your license, which will wind up in more charges and more of the above mentioned consequences.  Not to mention if you drive for your job, or have a commercial driver's license, those could be significantly impacted by a reckless driving conviction.

If you are charged with reckless driving, seek the advise of legal counsel prior to your court date to ensure the best possible outcome. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Spousal Support in Virginia

Spousal support is one of the first thing many people think about when they are getting a divorce: Will I get any? How much?  Will I have to pay spousal support?

Spousal support, in Virginia, is not guaranteed to a spouse upon a divorce.  There are many, many factors that a court must take into account and consider before awarding spousal support.  These factors include, but are not limited to standard of living during the marriage, duration of the marriage, monetary and non-monetary contributions to the well being of the family, earning capacity, etc.

Due to the variety of the factors, it is impossible to predict if a court will award spousal support and if they do award spousal support, how much.  Each case is different and even with similar facts, judges may weigh certain factors differently than other judges which could result in very different decisions.  This is one reason many people attempt to negotiate a spousal support agreement rather than ask the court to decide.  

If you are serious about wanting to pursue spousal support, you should contact an attorney immediately as it is an issue that you could unintentionally waive very early on in the process if you are not careful.