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’s Your Best Alternative If You Can’t Stay Together?
Right now, even if you wanted to file for a separation or divorce, courts are closed during this COVID-19 crisis except for emergency matters. Once they do re-open, all those cases that were filed prior to the closures have to be rescheduled, which means your case will most likely not be wrapped up in 2020-- unless you roll up your sleeves and do the hard work upfront, so that by the time you file you qualify for a fast-track uncontested divorce that most courts streamline through the system. How will you get to a comprehensive agreement? Probably not without some help. If you have kids, you need to work out a Parenting Plan, which at a minimum lays out a regular time-sharing schedule, holidays, and a mechanism for making major decisions. Experienced family mediators, mental health professionals or parent coaches know how to assist couples develop a thoughtful contract that addresses everyone's needs, with the child's best interest being the top priority. With respect to money issues, let's be honest-- all of us just took a huge hit as a result of this coronavirus pandemic. The assets are what they are now, not what they were last year or even last month. Excluding families with the top 10% of the wealth, the finances for most couples are not that [...]
How’s Co-parenting Going During This Coronavirus Crisis?
For parents that have a Parenting Agreement or court-ordered time-sharing arrangement in place, sending your kids back and forth between two homes right now isn't easy, believe me I'm in the same boat as a lot of my clients. Hopefully, now more than ever you are realizing the importance of communicating effectively with one another and putting your child's needs first. Managing the current situation is going to require a lot of flexibility, as we all adapt on a daily basis to the constant changes impacting our lives. A few days ago, Virginia announced schools would remain closed through the rest of the academic year. So far, DC is hoping to resume in May. Just yesterday, Maryland informed all parents of its decision to keep the schools closed through April 24, 2020. As a result of these drastic changes to our children's normal routine, all separated or divorced parents really need to have a serious conversation about their custody schedules. Some parents may opt to maintain the regular schedule, while others might decide to tweak their time-sharing arrangement to minimize transitions. No matter what you do, you need to be on the same page and put it in writing. If you don't think you can talk to your former partner in a calm and rational way, then reach out [...]
Were You Planning a 2020 Wedding?
If you were planning to get married this year, life is hitting you both hard with a lesson many of us didn't get until kids came into the picture: your ability to survive together is completely linked to your ability to adapt while maintaining open and honest lines of communication. Now more than ever, young couples in particular need to seriously discuss what is most important to them. Is the big wedding really necessary? How realistic is it that people will want to travel to a destination wedding overseas any time soon? Where can you make budget cuts to preserve your financial resources, or minimize the costs for your families? Money talks are tough, but they are necessary. Your legal union has significant consequences that really should not be taken lightly. Your combined earning power and borrowing power may be completely different tomorrow compared to yesterday. While it may be unpleasant to discuss, you need to get on the same page about how you feel about spending vs. savings, as well as issues that might not currently exist but could pop up in the future, such as separate property interests, debt, business interests, intellectual property rights or potential family gifts and inheritances. Once you feel you have made sufficient progress on these talks, you need to put pen to paper. [...]
Will Your Relationship Survive This Covid-19 Crisis?
Life's normal challenges can wreak havoc on a couple's relationship. Now imagine how damaging a pandemic of epic proportions can be, when our lives, liberties and financial stability are all at stake. This Covid-19 crisis is either going to make or break your relationship, there is no doubt about it. You will either find that you absolutely cannot imagine a life after this without your partner, or you will want to exit as quickly as possible when this blows over. I really don't see much room for feelings of ambivalence. Those that took the time to build a solid friendship, where there is immense trust, respect and mutual affection have the best chance of weathering this storm. But they will still need to work hard to communicate and problem-solve well during these times of great uncertainty. All of our priorities and values are being tested right now, as we contemplate what are true necessities and which jobs are actually "essential." Most of our plans are either on hold for now or they are being drastically revised beyond our control. Stressful situations tend to bring out the ugly side in people, especially those that lack good coping strategies. Right now, the last thing anyone wants to be around at home is someone that is unkind, unhelpful, excessively morose, abusing drugs [...]