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 Game of Life
This week, I got to enjoy a snow day with my son, and he wanted to play the board game "Life." I never played this growing up, but I wish I had-- the very first thing you have to decide is whether you are going to college or go straight to pursuing a career. I got to explain to him the consequences involved with those 2 choices, mainly that if you go to college you will probably earn 50% more than your peers that don't get a Bachelors degree, but you also will walk out with $100,000 of debt (that is the prescribed amount in the board game). He asked me whether that included law school, and I had to laugh before explaining that this would be an additional $100,000 investment, and for doctors it is more like $200,000. His eyes grew wide as he took in those numbers, and I can't even imagine what the price tag will be when he's actually ready to make some of these choices. Lately, whenever I lecture at the law schools, or on panels, or students contact me through various connections, I feel like the bearer of bad news, and I hate being in that position. The reality is that government jobs are incredibly difficult to obtain now, non-profits are having a hard [...]
Planning for a Honeymoon
This week, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Teresa from Honeymoon Islands, which is based in Virginia. (This segment of Making It Last will air March 6 & 7.) For years, Teresa has been helping couples plan "pop the question" trips, honeymoons, destination weddings, babymoons (the last trip before the baby comes), second weddings, family-moons (where the whole blended family goes away together) and anniversary trips. By traveling all over the world, and checking out the various resorts, she's developed relationships with the various service providers across the globe and therefore has a wealth of information to assist couples in planning the trip of their dreams. It was fun to reminisce with her about some of our past adventures, learn about the latest travel trends and hear about some of the amazing trips she's put together for her high-end clients. Sharing some of these ideas will hopefully help others dream up their ideal honeymoon, however, it may also leave many flabergasted by how some of the wealthiest members of our society spend their free time. Even I was shocked to learn that for the right price, you can arrange to have the Sistine Chapel closed for a private tour. I guess that just confirms that everyone, including the church, has its price. Unfortunately, great excursions are rarely cheap, but many seem to suffer from [...]
The Rat Race
My alma maters and athletic trainers built me to be a machine. At age 25, they sent me off into the rat race. 15 years later, after swimming in DC's shark tank all this time, managing not to drown or be eaten alive, there are a few things I want to share with others as food for thought. First, what is the point of the game? Some of us are natural born gamers, and we just happen to enjoy the thrill of the game. But we really need to think about the actual point in the game and what we will define as a win. Is it simply how much you have in your bank account at the end of the day? Is it how much fun you had and how many toys you got to play with along the way? There is no right or wrong answer, it's whatever works for you-- but make sure you define for yourself what success means and then go for it. Second, I've seen way too many people, who've gotten caught up on keeping up with their peers. Let me be clear without revealing any confidences, you truly have no idea how people are financing their lifestyles. If you could see what I see, you'd be shocked. So don't worry about those around you, just do [...]
Time is Money
According to the ABA, there are about 1 million licensed and actively practicing attorneys in the U.S. So not only is there true confirmation that we are a rare breed, but it also helps explain why so many people don't fully understand us. We are trained to see things quite differently, and early on we are taught that time is money. In some ways, this is great-- in my personal life, I don't waste my time on fruitless efforts. With relationships, if I don't see a return on my investment of time, I get out fast. When you think of your time as something truly precious, you simply don't waste it. While I happen to think this is a great strength, I can see how it might be a source of conflict with others. The fact is most private-sector attorneys are trained early on to track their time for billing. We bill for emails, calls, letters, document review, drafting agreements, meetings, etc. This can all add up very quickly, and many of us joke that if we ever got in trouble we could not afford our own services. Sad thing is that joke is really true. It is not many that can afford $300/hr or more for someone's legal services. So here is the truly sad part that I see in the divorce world- the [...]