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
What Will We Do With Domestic Partnerships?
Recently, someone was trying to claim the existence of a domestic partnership, even though the parties had not lived together very long and the other person denied any intent to create a domestic partnership. Suffice to say, at times like this I appreciate how clear and precise the law likes to be, which is why we have committees that work out the definitions of all sorts of things, including a domestic partner. Most states (and insurance companies) require the couple to live together for at least 6-12 months, and often there is a registration process. They will also want proof of your joint residency and that you rely on one another, not just for love, but also financial support-- so a joint bank statement or loan documents, as well as evidence of having each other designated in the other's will, power of attorney, etc. If you want to make sure you cover all the bases, it is best to consult with a family law attorney in your area. Originally, many states created domestic partnerships to try and provide some rights (like insurance benefits) to gay partners that could not be legally married in that state, but in other states this could apply to heterosexual couples as well. Now that DOMA has been repealed so that our federal government will have to recognize gay marriages, more states will surely follow suit-- if for no other reason than [...]
What Qualifies for An Annulment?
This question keeps coming up-- as if people expect me to be able to hand them an eraser so they can just wipe away the need for an involved legal process that requires at least six months to one year of a physicial separation, depending on the jurisidiction, before they can actually file for a divorce and have the courts recognize the dissolution of their marriage. People are stunned to learn that although it is rather easy to tie the knot, it is not that easy to get divorced. Trying to avoid the whole process by claiming there was never a valid marriage is clever-- but shrewdness alone will not get you an annulment. Again, depending on the laws of each state, you often have to prove the following: 1. Marriage was entered into under fraud; 2. Your parnter did not disclose some material fact-- like a criminal history, impotence, or STDs; 3. One party lacked the mental capacity to knowingly enter into the marriage; 4. You were related by blood; 5. You got married under duress, in other words, threats were used to coerce you to enter Into marriage; 6. One party was already married, without having obtained a divorce, and therefore was ineligible to marry another. Annulments are hard to prove, which is why so few people ever file for them. You also need to do a cost/benefit analysis-- there are many [...]
5 Tips for Engaged Couples
Summer love is in full swing, especially with some great tunes! Personally, I am digging Taylor Swift's break up song, as I walk around feeling like I'm "22" and navigating some seriously "Blurred Lines." Many are probably dancing until the crack of dawn out to "Get Lucky" and looking for that "Ooh-la-la." But, if you have managed to get past all of this and decided to tie the knot, you are now playing in a whole different ballpark. You are less focused on which parties to attend and more focused on hosting the biggest event of your life. Excited yet nervous at the same time, you have some major issues to work out with your significant other. After 15 years of helping couples with their prenups, and sharing my words of wisdom as a matrimonial lawyer on things to avoid, here are my top 5 tips: 1. Talk about finances- you may not want to do a prenup, but at least have the discussion about (a)what you think should be kept separate, (b) what you consider to be joint, and (c) how you will handle the household budget. If you are willing to memorialize this in a prenup, even better. These do not cost a lot of money and buy you a tremendous peace of mind. In the meantime, if you feel overwhelmed by money talks [...]
Savor Those Home-Runs!
No I am not talking about sex today, although don't get me wrong you should savor those home runs. But using baseball as an analogy for life, we all have days where we feel like we're up at bat, not quite sure that we'll properly hit the balls being thrown at us from various angles, and then every so often (hopefully) you have one of those days or weeks where you just feel like Bryce Harper-- your bat is not just making contact with the ball and scoring singles or doubles, but you are literally knocking that ball out of the park with the bases fully loaded. Well, this was one of those weeks for me. It is rare to have a day where everything goes right, so usually I am just happy with a balanced day-- some good, some bad, as long as it all evens out in the end. Over the years, I have just learned that when you are pulled in a million different directions, it's just not possible to be going at 100% in all the areas of life, but I try to keep in mind that 90% is still an A. It was not easy to let go of some over-achiever tendencies until recently, but those of us in our 40's juggling work and home life with young kids have to [...]