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 Key Tips When Merging Households
Fifteen years ago when I got married for the first time, it was so easy to merge households-- we both had nothing and were basically starting from scratch. When we had to untangle everything, we remained civil and amicable for the most part, and ever since, I have continued to keep all my accounts and everything separate. However, on a weekly basis my clients that are marrying later in life, or for the second time, often ask me for practical advice to ensure a smooth transition, and here is a check list I go over with them: (1) Talk about what your shared/joint expenses are going to be and how they will get paid. (2) Open a joint account and one joint credit card, where you can earn points together. You should both review this monthly and set a limit for how much someone can charge without the other's consent. (3) Update your address with all your creditors, etc. Notify DMV, voter's registration, and all your service providers. (4) Notify your insurance companies and add on additional drivers as needed. (5) Avoid arguing over what should stay or go in terms of furntiure or artwork, etc. Let's talk about point #5 as the rest are pretty self explanatory. Instead of getting into heated battles over whose crap should go, try to create 3 categories: 1) [...]
Hit the Road Jack (or Jill)
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Becky Lee, who founded Becky's Fund, which is a local non-profit that not only promotes awareness of domestic violence, but also seeks to prevent it through education seminars and outreach programs. I could not agree more with her that a huge problem we have today is that there isn't a good understanding of what a healthy relationship looks like. What we see on tv is not real, and educators as well as parents need to make more of a concerted effort to teach children good relationship/life skills. The fact is one in four women will experience some sort of abusive episode with a partner. Whether it is verbal or physical abuse, no one should have to live this way, and yet, unfortunately many people don't realize what a vulnerable position they are in until things are really bad. Over the years, I have seen so many people fall into an incredibly dependent position. By allowing one person to control all the money and not having any of your own credit cards or bank accounts, you are leaving yourself in a very precarious situation if things go awry. How will you ever be able to survive on your own in case of an emergency? When one person holds all of the economic power in a relationship, the other [...]
Blending Traditions
Inter-faith and inter-racial marriages are the new norm in the 21st century, but it would be naive of us to think that these unions no longer face unusual challenges. Many of my friends have strived to blend their traditions, but not without some very difficult discussions with extended families, who of course will want to weigh in-- especially when children come into the mix. I am all for mixing things up, but I do think that couples need to have some serious discussions about how they will handle religion, and passing on culture, heritage, and language skills to their children. These are not the kinds of talks you want to put off until after a child is actually born. Rather, before you ever walk down the aisle, you need to have a candid discussion with your partner about the things that matter most to you about your own beliefs and culture. Unfortunately, in divorce situations, buried issues about religion often rear their ugly head. In many of the separation or custody agreements I draft for clients, we now have to stipulate the religion the child will continue to be raised in until s/he attains the age of majority. We often stipulate if a party needs to pay for religious schools and any special events, such as a Bar Mitzvah. Here's [...]
Redefining Sexy in the 21st century
Recently, Sandberg has gotten a lot of backlash certain opinions she's expressed in her book "Lean In," but the lovely thing about being an American is that we are all entitled to freely express our opinions, and I give her props for talking about a tough subject while many other women just grin and bear it. Among the many points she made, I particularly want to emphasize one that may not be getting enough attention-- she is dead right when she warns that a key to success is the life partner a woman picks, and actually that applies to both sexes. Back in the day, women generally stayed home and married guys, who were good providers. Guys were encouraged to find good eye-candy that could produce cute babies. Some have still not outgrown that old-fashioned mentality, but thankfully the women's lib movement has totally changed the game in the last 50 years, so women no longer have to rely on their good looks or a good provider to come rescue them. All of these changes have profoundly impacted human relationships on many levels, including how women view other women and how men view women-- not just in the workforce but outside the workforce. Most women I grew up did not go to school to get their MRS degree, and most guys I know today are no [...]