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
Going the Extra Mile to Help Others
Today, I had a meeting in Baltimore, and managed to arrange time for coffee with a client that lives out there rather than have him commute into DC. Tomorrow, I am teaching a divorce workshop at Universities of Shady Grove, and afterwards will meet another client for coffee near his house instead of having him travel to meet me. I actually do this quite often, as a minor accomodation for my clients. Also, if people just want to do retainers for limited scope representation, such as flat-fees for drafting certain documents or reduced retainers for advice and consultation without any commitment to appear in court, I am willing to work with people and their budgets, and I hope that I am not alone. People need help, and these days we all need to think about how we can go the extra mile to assist those around us. Unfortunately, unless you are that 1% of the population with plenty of money to spare, the ability to just pursue a basic life is becoming increasingly difficult. The numbers just don't make it possible-- if the average college grad is leaving with $25,000 of student debt, then the average wedding costs $20,000, and the average cost for raising one child through age 18 is about $150,000-- that is almost $200,000 that a young [...]
Optimism v. Pessimism
In the December 2011 issue of Psychology Today there is a great article by Annie Murphy Paul entitled "The Uses and Abuses of Optimism and Pessimism." She goes on to explain that while an optimistic view is great for providing us with hope, pessimism is a useful protective mechanism for our ego. If your expectations are low, you can only be pleasantly surprised; meanwhile eternal optimists run the risk of being greatly disappointed. (Never is the point clearer to us all than in the dating context.) Ultimately her point is that you need to have both outlooks, and use them appropriately in the right situations. After my divorce in 2005, my friends encouraged me to be cautiously optimistic. You obviously need to have hope to rebuild a new life on your own-- you need positive energy to establish a warm home, make new friends, create your own traditions, and solidify your place in the workforce. But with all these major undertakings, you need to be careful and act with prudence. Not everyone that wants to be part of your new world deserves to be in it. Pace yourself as you make big changes, and don't be afraid to hit the brakes if something doesn't feel right. It's funny, because as a child I was naturally inclined to be quite an [...]
Beware of Those Addicted to Instant Gratification
Modern technology has helped us stay connected, reduce communication costs, and decreased wait times for responses. In many ways, these are incredible advances that have helped businesses, allowed more women to stay in the workforce while working from home, and facilitated the continuation of many long distance relationships. With all this gain, however, there is some loss, and increasingly what I see is a decreased amount of patience. Everyone seems to have developed an expectation for instant gratification with immediate responses. Unfortunately, life does not always work that way.In boarding school, there were 16 girls in Junior House, and we all had to share one pay phone. There was no internet-- no cell phones-- no other way to communicate with the outside world except by taking turns and sharing that one phone or sitting down and writing a letter. For 10 years, the only form of communication I had with my penpal from Spain was letters-- until finally technology crept into our relationship, and now we can use Facebook, Skype and email, which is all great, but I have to admit I miss those letters.It took years to earn my degrees and build my legal career, and as everyone knows it took me 38 years to connect with my dad, and my brother had to wait 27 years to have [...]
Preparing Yourself for the Holidays
Holidays can be a great time of year, especially if you have special people in your life to celebrate with you. For those of us with children, the holidays are an especially magical time. I have to admit, I've never experienced a greater joy than seeing my son's face Christmas morning, as he dashes over to the stockings at the crack of dawn to see what Santa has brought for him. Same thing with the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy-- although I'm pretty sure this might be the final year that he'll still truly believe in all those characters. For those in an unhappy situation or recently separated/divorced, however, the holidays are a particularly difficult time. Find friends to join you in the festivities and treat yourself to something fun. Sometimes, you have to find your own fun and make your own adventures, until you find the right one to share your time and celebrate with you. Often, in an estranged relationship, a person will have a difficult time coming up with gift ideas for the other parent. A home-made card or art project from the child is always a great idea, or even a Hallmark card with a gift card at least acknowledges the occassion. For those with children, I truly encourage you to think about the impact on [...]