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
5 Tips to Playing 20 Questions
I happen to love 20 questions, but I get that many of you don't-- maybe you just need to think about it differently? Don't think of it as a chore, you need to view it as a game or like a treasure hunt, where each step of the way you pick up more clues about the other person. What you are doing is actally called "mapping" in psychology, as you try to figure out (1) where someone came from; (2) where are they now; and (3) where are they heading? This is why you ask some questions about the past, the present and then the future. Easy! Well, perhaps not for everyone... My dad has the gift of gab and is super gregarious. He was a bartender way back in the day, and worked on a cruise ship for many years, where he encountered people from every walk of life. Even today, he is quite the charmer, and I seem to have inherited that Casanova gene, so when I am playing 20 questions, it is clear that I'm not faking it-- I am geniunely having fun trying to figure out the other person. If you don't feel this way, try to fake it until you make it! As a witty friend of mine said recently, "you need to meet a lot of Richards to find a good Dick." While playing 20 questions, which should be [...]
50 Shades of G
A while back, after reading Fifty Shades of Gray, I blogged a bit about one of my past dating experiences, which was a complete fail because we both had dominant personalities and neither one wanted to cede and play the role of a sub. But was it a complete fail? I learned a lot from that relationship, and I am still friends with that man. Why? There are lots of reasons, but the main one is that we are both good people and enjoy each other's company. We may not be compatible as intimate partners, but there are so many other options besides just that one facet to a guy-girl relationship. Before I go further, let me start at the beginning. Until college, everyone called me "Gina" or "G," and I had the nicest high school sweetheart a girl could ask for, but we parted ways after graduation. We had different goals and the long distance thing was not for us, so no hard feelings, it was just time to end things-- and yes, 20 years later we are still friends. My senior year of college, I met my husband, who was a blond version of Ferris Bueller-- a brilliant daredevil, who made me laugh like no one else. Unfortunately, after 12 years, we grew apart and got divorced. Despite our disappointment, we rose above the situation and have managed to peacefully share [...]
Cash is King in a Divorce- So Find A Way To Level The Playing Field
I really hate to say this, but just the other day a judge told me "he who holds the gold has control." It is sad but true, you may want your day in court, but can you afford it? Not many can-- at least not without some help. If significant sums of cash are not readily available to you, and you don't have a Line of Credit and can't borrow from family or friends, where are you going to come up with the $10,000 or more required as a typical litigation retainer? I've seen many cash out their 401(k)s or IRAs in order to finance their divorce or custody disputes, and every day I see people settle in order to avoid digging a deeper financial hole for themselves. These are not very appealing options to say the least. There is a reason married men like to jokingly say, "it is cheaper to keep her." A litigated divorce that is hotly contested is simply not cheap-- you are paying for legal services by the hour, and the average rates for a good attorney in DC will range from $300-600 per hour. Custody evaluations start at $15,000 if you are using a private expert vs. the court services. Vocational experts and business valuation experts also work by the hour and with retainers starting at least with $5,000. [...]
Eat, Pray, Love- It Really Is That Simple!
I haven't read Liz Gilbert's book in years, and never saw the movie with Julia Roberts because I didn't want to destroy the images in my own head about how that story should be depicted, but the message from her post-divorce journey has stuck with me all these years. When you suffer a setback, it can take awhile to return to your natural state of being, and those of us that are able to rebound quickly truly do abide by this simple formula: remember to eat, pray and love every day. Why Eat? Because we all need nourishment, and breaking bread with another human being is a very social thing to do. To me, eating alone is a chore, and when I am upset it is the last thing in the world I want to do, but because my friends and family know this, what do they do when they want to make sure I'm ok? They feed me-- they prepare the most delicious meals and remind me that I am not actually a machine, although sometimes I may feel that way. While we eat, people share their stories with me, and they restore my faith in humanity, and to be honest, more important than feeding my body, they nurture my soul-- but the body needs actual food to survive, and that is exactly why my loved [...]