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
Forgiving Others, and Yourself, Is The Best Gift of All
So often I see people grappling with either anger or severe sadness, especially when they first come to me for help with a divorce. Sometimes, they blame the other person entirely for their pain, but there are others that turn that critical eye inward to an unhealthy extreme, and they cannot forgive themselves for having made such a mistake in some of the choices they made when picking their partner, for enduring as much pain as they did, for not leaving sooner, etc. They will perseverate about this so much, that eventually they become filled with fear and self-doubt about their ability to judge others in the future. Remember, hind-sight is 20/20. You can't blame yourself for not seeing into the future, or giving people the benefit of the doubt. Some people are excellent at hiding their truly nasty side until the honeymoon is over, and others will change based on certain life challenges that no one could have predicted. So, at some point, you have to find a way to forgive yourself in order to move on and possibly find love again. With respect to forgiving others, I know first-hand this is not easy, and yet harboring anger and resentment against others is just an incredibly heavy load to have to carry. Negative feelings will fester and eat away [...]
How Do You Kiss & Make Up?
It is natural and inevitable that couples will argue, have differences of opinion, and that each side may need to retreat to his/her separate corner for a time out to think clearly and calm down. Especially when you put two very strong willed and independant people together, these clashes can be pretty intense. Let me be very clear about this: it is perfectly normal to fight, but it is how you act in the heat of an argument, and how you make up after an argument, that makes or breaks a relationship. While arguing, try to be cognizant of what you are saying-- for some of us, words matter a lot. Sometimes, the message might be a good one, but if your delivery sucks, the message will get lost in the process. Some of us resort to name calling, sarcasm, we go global or we shut down-- again all very common tactics-- but if we can try to catch ourselves and minimize this behavior in the heat of the moment, just imagine how much better off we would all be. If the point is to express your disappointment and to prevent a future misunderstanding, then you need to try to deliver that message as clearly as possible while refraining from kindergarten behavior. After a fight, when you are in a [...]
Dating & Social Media
Who ever thought so many people would pay attention to a change in status of Facebook? Well, apparently many people do. Seems so innocent- you are dating someone, you agree to be exclusive, okay might as well delete that single status on Facebook-- next thing you know, everywhere you go-- the hair salon, at the mall, on the street, at networking events everyone starts asking you about your status change! So here's the deal- before you make that change, I suggest you think through the consequences and have a talk with the other person about what it all means. Seriously- a change in FB status may not seem that big of a deal, but here is a news flash-- it actually might be, depending on the circles you travel in. Guys particularly like to mark their territory, so I get it. FB status is now the cheapest way ever to do that without shelling out a ton of cash-- genius! But let's face it, many guys are not really going to care about FB status at all. Why? Because at the end of the day it is just a public declaration that you have agreed to be exclusive, but you have not signed any legal documents, and all it takes is one click of the button to return to single [...]
Learning to Compartmentalize
Sometimes, the qualities that are our strengths in our work environment-- such as being assertive, driven, strategic, forceful, authoritative, decisive, and able to make cuts as needed-- can make us pretty crappy partners. Having insight into our personalities and learning to check some of our "bad" traits at the door when we come home, might just do wonders for us in our personal lives.Those that are driven to succeed may suffer from tunnel vision-- their ability to focus is such an asset in their professional endeavors, and yet ironically such a detriment to them in their personal relationships. Unfortunately, gentle nudging does not usually do the trick-- the only way those blinders come off is as a result of some catastrophic or life-altering event.By sharing some of my stories, it is indeed my goal to try to find a way to spare others some pain and help my peers avoid some of the mistakes that I have seen so many make over and over again throughout the years. If there is one key thing I would urge everyone to do is take a good look inward and try to recognize how some of those attributes that might be rewarded at work might not be so highly regarded by your loved ones. Try to compartmentalize and learn to leave the work [...]