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
What Are The Financing Options for Divorce Fees?
As the holidays near, it is quite common to see a spike in separations. For those that about to embark in the divorce process, it is important to understand the four main types of services generally available to clients with family law matters: (1) initial consults; (2) flat-fee services for preparing specific documents; (3) alternate dispute resolution; or (4) representation through retainers. Initial consults are key because they provide clients with an overview of the law, including their rights and obligations, as well as a detailed explanation of the legal process. It is important to obtain this information, together with an expert’s advice on strategy, early on and usually a one-hour consult in the DC Area ranges from $300-$600, depending on the attorney’s reputation and level of experience. Low cost services are typically offered for drafting or reviewing Prenuptial Agreements, Separation/Marital Settlement Agreements and/or uncontested divorce documents simply because the time involved with these services can easily be predicted. Low cost arrangements are not available in contested situations. Alternate dispute resolution is conducted outside of court and includes using an attorney as a mediator or working in a Collaborative Divorce Process, where each party has his/her own attorney and as a team they work to resolve the outstanding issues outside of court. In these arrangements, individuals may be able do a pay-as-you-go plan, [...]
What’s Your Attachment Style?
We all recognize early on that people have different tendencies or preferences than our own, and by the time we get to college, most of us can easily identify which of the 16 personality types out there best describes us based on the Myers Briggs test. However, rarely do we take the time to explore the why we are wired the way we are, or make the effort to understand or appreciate why others are the way they are, and those that lack this insight will continue to experience major setbacks in their personal relationships, especially in the dating world. Rarely do we fall in love with our carbon copy, and so we need to appreciate that others may have a different way of deriving energy, processing information, or making decisions, and as a result they may want to pursue a different lifestyle. This is precisely what makes life (and love) so interesting, and we have to learn to live and let live without passing judgment. And in the meantime, there is one other little thing we need to keep in mind... attachment styles: secure, anxious or detached? Figure out which one you are, and then learn to identify the others. Someone with a secure attachment style is confident in the bond created, and will not exhibit insecure behaviors. Those [...]
Why Are Prenups a Growing Trend?
As holiday season nears, many couples will get engaged, and then embark in the typical 6-9 month planning process that will result in a wedding, which on average costs $25,000 in the United States (not including the cost of the engagement ring). During this process, money talks are an inevitable– not just with respect to the short-term decisions such as the cost of a venue, caterer, invitations, florist, photographer, entertainment, or honeymoon, but also long-term decisions that will impact the household, such as plans for housing and managing combined expenses/savings. In recent years, trends show that these money talks often include one addition topic: the possibility of formalizing the couple’s financial agreements with a prenuptial contract. Young professionals, who are already painfully aware of the rate of divorce, seem to be increasingly aware of the option to redefine joint property, protect separate assets and/or set limits on future alimony claims by entering into a prenuptial agreement with their betrothed. While previously, these agreements were mainly used by individuals with significant personal or family wealth, and/or those entering into second marriages, there are now a growing number of young professional couples without significant resources requesting a prenuptial or post-nupital agreement in order to minimize the financial damage that can be caused in the event of a litigated divorce. These days, [...]
How Do You Deal With Misdirected Anger?
As a divorce lawyer, I'm used to seeing people at their worst. Often as the bearer of bad news, I am the one who gets blamed or yelled at, even though I know this situation has nothing to do with me. Luckily, once I'm off the clock, I don't have to keep dealing with psychological warfare, but many others do, so here are 3 tips for dealing with misdirected anger: 1. Ask Why- If you can understand the source of someone's anger, maybe you can help them problem-solve or at least sympathize with their situation. 2. Identify Patterns- Is there a specific behavior that triggers a visceral reaction? If so, maybe you can avoid the behavior, that is if you really care to change. 3. Learn to Disengage- Rather than argue, what if you don't react? If you don't fuel someone's fire, it will burn out that much faster. With rational people, talking through issues, learning to avoid triggers, and not rewarding bad behavior should work, but with irrational people you may find that nothing works. It helps to understand that many people suffer from mental health illnesses, and not all of them can be treated with medication. Now, while you can certainly have compassion for someone that is not well, you are not doing anyone any good (especially yourself [...]