DC and MD Matrimonial Lawyer Focusing on Custody, Divorce and Prenups
For over 20 years, Regina A. DeMeo has been helping families in MD and DC with custody and divorce issues either through mediation, litigation or advocacy. She is an alumna of Georgetown University and GW University Law School, who is nationally recognized as a top matrimonial attorney. She is frequently quoted in the media for her ideas to promote healthier relationships and featured in the Washington Post, ABA Journal and Bethesda Magazine for her care and commitment to her clients. As a legal commentator, she has appeared on Washington Post Express Facebook Live, ABC tv, Good Morning America, MMCTV, YouTube and Sirius XM, and has been quoted in various magazines, books and journals across the country.
Regina offers appointments in Maryland and DC. Her areas of practice include:
Latest Blog Posts by GenXSmartie
Hack into Your Own Hard-drive
When people come for an initial divorce consult, they often feel like their life is in complete chaos, and that everything is spinning out of control. Once I give them a legal roadmap and they understand what lies ahead, they start to feel a little better, but as their legal counsel, I can only do so much in terms of getting them back on track. The real work has to occur inside their own heads, and their emotional recovery will depend immensely on their ability to hack into their own hard-drive. Some people will wallow in self-pity, and complain about how unfair life is to them. They will play the blame game, and seem incapable of taking any responsibility for their own actions. The more they continue to the play the role of a victim, and allow themselves to feel powerless, the more this becomes a self-fulling prophecy. The downward spiral into the black hole is a very sad thing to witness, but there is nothing I can do to stop that-- each person has to find their own inner strength to save themselves. When I went through my own divorce, I worked with a life coach, who helped me see that life is all about choices, and we alone are in control of the choices we make for ourselves, including how much power we wish to [...]
Work Hard, Play Hard– With an Emphasis on Play
As an athlete, I grew up with a bunch of boys-- not in my actual sport, but we all hung out at the gym and shared the same track and conditioning equipment. In boarding school, all the jocks ate together- 3 meals a day, and as a result I was privy to all their conversations, and I do mean all. Guys have rarely filtered around me, but the significance of this did not really dawn on me until the other day when one of my friends pointed out that I really get guys, whereas she thinks most women do not have a ton of guy friends, and many are in fact intimated by them. She explained that some women are even unsure of how to flirt or initiate a conversation, and I had to admit this was all foreign to me. In that moment, I realized how fortunate I was to grow up surrounded by the Adonis-type full of testosterone. My mom used to say, "tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are." She is actually right, your friends are a good reflection of your own values. The funny thing is, however, over the past decade I have developed two distinct groups of friends-- the ones who are married with two kids (and they work their butts off to provide the best for their children) [...]
Writing a Love Story
Three years ago, when Ellen McCarthy wrote a story for the Washington Post about my passion for helping families in the DC Area, her article got some major bounce. I remember her telling me that one day, I should sit down and write my own life story with all of the twists and turns, and since then I have lost count of the number of people that have shared her opinion, but it wasn't until my son asked me to share the story about finding our family that I actually did anything about it. For those who have followed the blog, you have gotten a much seedier version of the real life events that have transpired since I met my dad in February 2011, and one day I hope to finish writing the adult version of that story, but the children's book was truly a labor of love, meant to inspire children of any ethnicity and socio economic class to believe in themselves and their gifts. I want kids to dream big and reach for the stars, but without ever forgetting the importance of their roots. Familes are so special, and it took me so long to finally complete the reconstruction of my own, which I originally set out to do for my son. I had no idea when I started this journey that [...]
The Kiss of Death When Dating
I finally saw Perks of a Wallflower, and the best line in the movie by far is "we accept the love we think we deserve." So true, and yet based on what I have seen around here, let me just say this-- many need to raise their standards. I am amazed at some of the crap that people will put up with when dating-- and if you think things will get better later, you are in for some major disappointment. I realize that in this "Hookup Culture," lust takes over well before love, and we all know that lust is going to cloud our judgment, but as best you can try to be on high alert for those red flags. Here are some of my favorites, which should be the kiss of death as soon as you see them: 1. Do the words match the actions? In other words, does this person follow through with what they say they are going to do. If someone says, "I'll call you tomorrow" do they actually do it? If not, say sionara baby, because dating is a trust-building exercise, and if you can't build trust early on, there is simply no future. 2. Do you respect this person's judgment? When you hear their stories about the past, are you laughing with them or at them? If you are [...]