Our Family Law Practice.
Why Lippman, Semsker & Salb? Lippman, Semsker & Salb represents clients in all areas of family law, including actions for Divorce, Child Custody and Support, negotiation of Property Settlement Agreements, Prenuptial Agreements, Cohabitation Agreements, Enforcement actions, and Modifications of Court Orders.
Our extensive litigation experience serves our family law clients well. We have the expertise and experience to help our clients through some of the most difficult challenges of life.
We work very hard to take a collaborative approach with all parties to reach a fair and humane result. We are often able to assist families to dissolve their relationships without an adversarial proceeding. However, when an amicable outcome cannot be found, we litigate aggressively.
Ending a relationship is traumatic and often overwhelming. We know that you must have the assistance of an attorney who will give you ample personal attention and who is highly skillled and very experienced. More importantly, your lawyer must be able to offer creative solutions to problems that often seem intractable. Lippman, Semsker & Salb is proud to offer excellence in lawyering combined with reasonable fees and personal attention.
Where Should I File My Divorce Papers? You can file for divorce in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia if either you or your spouse has been a resident of that jurisdiction for at least six months before the date you file the divorce papers with the court and you or your spouse consider that place to be your permanent place of residence.
When Can I File? In all three jurisdictions, the court cannot approve the divorce until a waiting period has expired. In D.C., the waiting period is six months if your separation is mutual and voluntary (that is, if you and your spouse agree to separate). If you and your spouse do not agree that the separation was mutual and voluntary, then the waiting period is one year.
In Maryland, the waiting period is one year if your separation is mutual and voluntary. If not, then the waiting period is two years.
And in Virginia, if there are no children from the marriage, the waiting period is six months and you must have a written property settlement agreement before you may file for divorce. If there are children from the marriage, you must be separated a minimum of one year before you may file for divorce. You do not file a separation agreement with the Court.
What Happens to Our Property? As part of a divorce, the property acquired during the marriage must be divided. Proper division of property can be complex and fraught with emotion. It is usually best to have an attorney negotiate the property distribution.
For more information or to speak with a lawyer, please call us at (301) 656-6905 or send us an email at family_law@lsslawyers.com.
Our family law practice extends to adoptions, including second-parent adoptions, domestic and international adoptions, step-parent adoptions, and readoptions. For more information, click here.
