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 Importance of Title IX, 50 Years Later
In June 1972, Congress enacted Title IX which required educational programs receiving federal assistance to ensure women were given equal access to sports. Later that same year I was born, so I am truly a Title IX baby, who fell in love with sports at an early age. For my mother and grandmother, who raised me, it was a good way for me to channel all my energy, while also ensuring that I was engaged in safe activities after school. For me, it was a complete game-changer that has impacted every aspect of my life. By age 11, when I began competing in rhythmic gymnastics I firmly believed that anything was possible and that I was in every respect equal to my male peers at school. Despite my modest upbringing I had very clear and ambitious life goals, and sports taught me the importance of setting goals, developing a plan, and savoring each and every win as it happens. But in order to continue with my gymnastic endeavors, my mother made it clear that I could not allow my academic performance to suffer. As a result, I became super disciplined and organized at an early age. In order to get in 3 hours of training a day and longer on weekends that were not spent in competitions, I had [...]
4 Easy Steps To Gaining Financial Literacy
April is Financial Literacy month, and in that vein I will be the guest speaker on two upcoming podcasts- one is focused on business owners and the other seeks to educate and empower women. 23 years ago, when I started practicing family law, if you told me I would be presenting on financial literacy I would have thought you were nuts. After being a student for two decades, all I had was over $100,000 of student debt with an undergraduate degree in diplomacy and a J.D., both of which were nicely framed and displayed in my Washington, DC office. Thankfully, over the past two decades that investment in my education has largely paid off, despite multiple life setbacks, and in addition to what I experienced in my own financial journey, I have had to weather hundreds of other storms as my divorce clients grapple with creating new monthly budgets and reassessing their financial investments as part of their divorce. In the process, I found there are a ton of resources out there available to people of any age that need help with establishing a budget and understanding the financial options out there. Take it in baby steps. Step One: Get Educated and Organized Educate yourself as to what your total household income is and how much you are actually [...]
Key Take Aways From The Will Smith-Chris Rock Saga
As a family law attorney for over two decades, I have been privy to a lot of heated arguments, and especially in mediation sessions I have witnessed many first-hand when settlement negotiations have taken a detour and a couple has reverted to blame-shifting and focusing on the past rather than staying present with me in problem-solving mode. I am used to people being loud and emotional, especially as a Latina. But as a first gen American, who studied diplomacy in undergrad and became a licensed attorney by age 25, my entire adult life I have been trained to uphold our generally accepted social norms that are codified in our laws in order to allow our society to function properly. And while I admit that a huge part of my job is educating others on what our rules are particularly with respect to family law issues, there are certain basic principles that even a child over the age of 8 should know, e.g. use your words, not your fists. Before I continue, let me just be clear that Chris Rock's joke at Jada's expense was incredibly hurtful and out of line-- even he has admitted that in his recent apology. Also, it pains me to use Will Smith, an actor I have enjoyed watching over the years, as an example [...]
Don’t Fall For The Sunk Cost Fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy originated as a business concept, but it really is quite applicable to personal relationships. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article there are five resources we invest in an endeavor: (1) time, (2) effort, (3) money, (4) emotion and (5) our beliefs. The false logic that I see many try to use to justify staying in a bad relationship/marriage is that they have already invested so many resources in this situation that they need to just stick with it. The problem is a bad investment that isn't yielding a decent return rarely gets better over time or by just sinking more resources into it. In fact, most times it is best to just cut your losses and move on. Moving on is easier said than done, especially when you have merged your finances, entangled your lives together, and know there are complicated or serious monetary, legal and/or social consequences to calling it quits. When weighing your options, especially if there isn't a clean exit, you need to get both legal advice from an experienced attorney and help from a mental health professional. This is going to be an exercise in mitigating damages with experts in damage control. As a divorce attorney for over 20 years in the DC Area, dealing with romantic fiascos is [...]