Northern Virginia Family Law and Divorce Attorneys
Whether helping clients draft a prenuptial agreement or negotiating a complex and contentious divorce settlement, the family and domestic law attorneys at Odin Feldman Pittleman deliver compassionate, comprehensive counsel that protects you and your children’s best interests.
Our depth of experience in the courtroom and our creative approaches to family law issues have helped clients find a favorable resolution to their situations for 50 years. We have experience in local, national and international family law matters and appear regularly in Northern Virginia courts including those in the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Fauquier; in the cities of Alexandria and Winchester; as well as in the juvenile and domestic relations district courts, circuit courts and Virginia Court of Appeals.
Whether through negotiation, mediation, trial or appeal, our attorneys zealously protect you, your family and your new future.
Areas Of Concentration
Divorce
The end of a marriage – no matter how amicable – presents life-changing challenges that require planning, guidance and support. Our Northern Virginia divorce attorneys blend their experience with compassion and use their extensive legal knowledge to help you find and chart the best “new” normal for yourself and for your family. We represent a broad range of clients, including high net worth individuals and military personnel. And, because each situation has its unique issues, we work closely with each client to determine the best legal path to divorce, whether it be mediation, an uncontested divorce or a courtroom trial.
When seeking a divorce in Northern Virginia, you need clear, compassionate counsel and a zealous advocate representing your best interests. Our family law attorneys offer solid experience and a successful track record in all aspects of navigating the end of your marriage, including:
- Contested and uncontested divorces
- Fault-based divorces on the grounds of adultery, desertion and cruelty
- Equitable distribution of assets, including fighting for more than 50% of the assets
- Complex tracing of separate property, such as inheritances and assets owned prior to the marriage
- Valuing a business
- Negotiating marital settlement agreements
- Divorce taxation
- Obtaining name changes for clients before, during and after divorce
- Establishing and contesting paternity of children
- Drafting confidentiality agreements
- Surrogacy
- Appeals to the Virginia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Virginia on behalf of clients who were dissatisfied with their legal representation and/or the outcome at trial
Child And Spousal Support
We help clients to establish, modify and enforce child support and spousal support in hopes of removing financial worry from the list of adjustments following divorce. As necessary, we augment our knowledge and legal expertise by partnering with key professionals, such as financial advisers and CPAs, to secure the resources that you and your children need to maintain stability and financial peace of mind.
The divorce attorneys at Odin Feldman Pittleman leverage a full range of strategies for securing financial support for you and your children, including, but not limited to:
- Obtaining court orders to compel payment of support
- Enforcing the garnishment of wages
- Modifying support in the future upon the occurrence of a material change in circumstances
- Working with vocational rehabilitation experts to provide expert opinions on the earning capacity of unemployed or underemployed spouses
- Working with CPAs to determine the true income of business owners
Child Custody And Visitation
Children should never be collateral damage in a divorce. Our child custody attorneys can help you establish, modify or enforce child custody and visitation arrangements that protect your children’s welfare and, whenever possible, preserve the children’s relationships with both parents. When custody and visitation are contested, we work with psychologists and other mental health professionals to conduct psychological evaluations and substance abuse evaluations of the parents. Our child custody attorneys are well-versed in dealing with guardians ad litem and Child Protective Services.
Pre- And Postnuptial Agreements
Our attorneys draft every type of premarital/pre-nuptial agreement for prospective spouses. We also assist clients who may not yet be certain that they want to divorce by drafting post-nuptial agreements to resolve issues related to finances and dependents.
Separation
When couples reach an impasse in their relationship but aren’t ready or willing to divorce, a legal separation may be an option. The Northern Virginia divorce attorneys at Odin Feldman Pittleman help clients navigate the sometimes complex path to legally separating in the Commonwealth of Virginia, drafting separation agreements when necessary and ensuring the client understands clearly the stipulations of the separation.
Same-Sex Divorce
Court rulings since late 2014 have removed the once complex and potentially arduous task of seeking a divorce for same-sex couples in Virginia. The divorce attorneys at Odin Feldman Pittleman remain abreast of changes in relevant laws, enabling us to help you achieve a fair and reasonable outcome.
Property Valuation & Division
We help clients reach a consensus on the equitable distribution of marital property and assets, including real estate, retirements, businesses and bank accounts. Whenever necessary, our divorce attorneys in Northern Virginia collaborate with CPAs, financial advisers, therapists or other professionals to find the most amicable, beneficial, tax-efficient distribution of assets.
We help our clients by:
- Seeking strategies for the equitable distribution of all types of property, including real estate, retirements, businesses and financial accounts
- Valuing and dividing all types or retirement funds, including defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, military retirements, and state and federal retirements (TSP, CSRS, FERS and VRS)
- Drafting simple and complex Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) for all types of retirement funds
- Fighting for more than 50% of the assets where appropriate
- Complex tracing of separate property, such as inheritances and assets owned prior to the marriage
Military Divorce
The DC-metropolitan area is home to a multitude of military personnel, and our Northern Virginia divorce attorneys offer the experience and legal acumen to help clients navigate what often is a complex transaction. Because military divorce is subject to both state and federal guidelines, you need an attorney who can manage myriad regulations seamlessly and with ease.
We represent military personnel both in Virginia and overseas in all areas of a divorce, including dividing military pensions, custody and visitation and child and spousal support.
International Family Law
The family and domestic attorneys at Odin Feldman Pittleman are well-versed in helping you understand how to manage legal issues whether they span state lines or continents.
Our attorneys:
- Advise clients from foreign countries on jurisdictional issues involving children and kidnapping, including Hague Convention matters
- Represent parents who wish to relocate their children to a different state or country
- Represent noncustodial parents seeking to block a former spouse from relocating their children
Arbitration And Mediation
The end of a marriage doesn’t have to launch an era of bad feelings. Our family law practice has trained mediators who strive to work collaboratively with clients, unlocking the paths toward resolution, successful negotiation and, hopefully, mutually beneficial outcomes. Our Northern Virginia divorce attorneys regularly represent clients during mediation conducted by third-party mediators and have a tremendously high success rate.
Protective Orders/Domestic Abuse
If you or your children fear or have been victims of violence in the home, or if your spouse has fraudulently accused you of domestic violence, call the Northern Virginia family attorneys at Odin Feldman Pittleman. Whenever necessary, we help clients by prosecuting and defending against protective orders in cases of asserted violence.
Grandparents’ And Stepparents’ Rights
We often represent grandparents who wish to maintain their place in their grandchildren’s lives. If an agreement cannot be reached with your grandchild’s biological parent outside of court, petitions can be filed with the court to fight for your rights.
Representative Matters
- Successfully petitioned the court to allow a mother to relocate across the country despite the fact that the father exercised regular and successful visitation with the children
- Successfully traced separate assets that a spouse owned 20 years ago prior to the marriage that had been commingled with marital funds and/or retitled into joint names
- Successfully obtained significant visitation rights despite significant alienation attempts by the other parent
- Successfully resolved through mediation and settlement complex divorce case involving significant assets and seven expert witnesses where every issue was in dispute, including which assets were marital and which were separate; the value and division of numerous assets, including a business, various pieces of real property, a boat, and personal property; allegations of fault; spousal support; child support; and custody and visitation
- Successfully won custody for a parent who had previously lost custody after a multiday trial in which numerous expert witnesses testified
- Protected one spouse’s separate interests in several hotel investments, eliminating the business interests from the marital estate
- Successfully and confidentially mediated high-stakes divorces for prominent professionals and public figures
- Reunited an alienated parent with her children by winning custody from the alienating parent and helped set up a reunification program
- Successfully litigated a contentious relocation custody matter where a mother won the right to move out of Virginia with an only child while the Father was seeing his son regularly. Negotiated a reasonable visitation schedule back in Virginia and in the new state
- Mediated complex long-term divorce, dividing a marital estate with over 100 rental properties and businesses
Recognition
- Best Law Firms, Family Law (Tier 2), Washington, DC, 2022-2023
- Best Law Firms, Family Law Mediation (Tier 2) Washington, DC, 2022-2023