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
The Serenity Prayer for Divorcing Couples
Alcoholics Anonymous has made this serenity prayer famous: Grant me the ability to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I wish divorcing couples (and their attorneys) would embrace this as their mantra. Every day I see people totally lose it. It is a bit like having someone pee on my carpet, and then I'm left with a mop to try and clean it up. As a matrimonial attorney for over 15 years, I have become an expert at damage control, yet as I work my magic I often ask myself that famous line from Forrest Gump, "are you crazy or just plain stupid?" Honestly, few people in DC are stupid; in fact we have one of the most densely populated areas of highly educated individuals, and yet some of the most brilliant professionals I have ever met do insane things in their personal lives. Why? Simple- because they are realizing that things are completely outside of their control. There is nothing more disturbing to a control-freak than the moment when they are forced to reckon with the fact that they can't control everything or everyone around them. As I watch the chaos around me, it all becomes a bit surreal-- kind of like a Matrix moment, where somehow I find a way [...]
Divorce Financing- A New Trend?
The crash of the housing boom has been felt by everyone-- trust me, I see it every day. People used to just sell their homes, split the proceeds and go their separate ways with a nice chunk of change. Not so much the last couple of years as people have seen their home values take a dive, leaving many with homes under water. In a divorce, this issue is further exacerbated by the fact that few still have Lines of Credit or Home Equity Lines that they can borrow against to help pay their legal fees. So what are people that need legal assistance supposed to do in order to pay for desperately needed legal services? They need to borrow cash-- at least $20,000 on the low end for a litigated case, and as much as $400,000 depending on the complexity of the issues and assets at stake. Today, on Good Morning America we will be talking about a growing trend in the US-- obtaining a loan through a divorce finance company to assist not just with legal fees, but also living expenses until the divorce is finalized and the assets are distributed. Nicole Noonan, who is a former New York matrimonial attorney, and is now director of client services at BBL Churchill Group, will be featured on GMA for her efforts [...]
Independance Day for Alpha Females
As I celebrate this Independance Day with my son in our nation's capitol, there is just so much that I am grateful for, especially in terms of the free will I have been afforded in my life. By being born in this country, and then having been given the gift of an amazing education, today I am able to be the master of my own domain beyond what I ever could have imagined 20 years ago while backpacking through Europe by myself. The summer of 1993, after I finished my studies in Spain, I decided to travel a bit on my own. I was surrounded by so much beauty, and because I was alone, I was able to wake up when I wanted to, eat when I was hungry, see whatever I wanted to see or skip whatever did not interest me, and set my own itinerary each and every day. Looking back 20 years later, it all makes so much sense now-- I have always been a strong and independant soul. So when you fast forward to the present, it really isn't that surprising to find that I run my own business, where I take the cases I want and turn away those that I don't think will be a good fit. In the meantime, I develop my own tv programs [...]
Emotional Thermometers & Parenting Post 9/11
We all have different strengths-- and luckily one of mine is that I'm a very visual person. When someone tells me their story, I can start to see it like a movie, and then I can play out different endings in my head. By hitting rewind, I can work backwards and figure out the best way to get them the ending that they want, well at least as far as their divorce story goes. But what if they could have used some visuals earlier on, hit pause, and prevented the need to ever see me? I believe it is possible-- not easy, but not impossible. A few years ago, my esteemed colleague, Steve Stein, wrote an article for Washington Parent entitled, "Measuring Your Family's Emotional Thermometer." In it he strongly encourages parents to imagine a thermometer to gauge the level of emotion in a child. Of course, the same technique could be applied to any member of the family, and the point is that if someone is at a 7-10 range, which means emotions are high, this is probably not the best time to have a difficult conversation. You need to be at a 1-3 range for calmer heads to prevail when discussing a hot-topic. Unfortunately, not enough people use this emotional thermometer tool, and when people do not fight well and [...]