This is not about politics; this is simply about recognizing parents. Let’s take a moment to celebrate, because this is genuinely worth celebrating. Virginia voters enshrined same-sex marriage protections directly into the state constitution — which means the legal recognition of same-sex parentage to children couples have during marriage is no longer dependent on a federal court decision that a future Supreme Court could revisit. For same-sex couples in Virginia, this is such a meaningful right as parents.

If you've been putting off your estate plan because the trust-versus-will question feels like a rabbit hole you don't have time for, you're not alone. I hear some version of "I know I need to do something, I just don't know what" almost every week in my practice. So let's settle this once and for all, in plain English, over a figurative cup of coffee.

I am a family lawyer and I have been a Guardian ad Litem, which means courts appointed me to speak for children in custody cases. Virginia judges decide custody on the child’s best interests, and the child development research on what that means is remarkably consistent. Here is what not to do during a custody case, and what to do instead.