Practice area
Family law in Virginia
Custody and visitation, including grandparents and non-parents, child and spousal support, equitable distribution, pension rights and protective orders in Juvenile and Domestic Relations court.
Chapter 01
Where family cases come apart
Family cases rarely fail on one big question. They fail on small ones that were allowed to harden: a visitation schedule that was never written down, a support figure agreed in a kitchen, a grandparent or other non-parent who has raised a child and has no standing paper, a marital home that has to be sold before anyone can move on.
The list of matters is long. Custody and visitation, including visitation for grandparents and non-parents. Child support and spousal support. Equitable distribution of what the marriage built, pension rights included. Annulments and void marriages. The sale of the marital home. Each one has its own court rules, and an early order can set the pattern for everything that follows.
Protective orders belong on that list too, and they are the matters that move fastest. Whether you are seeking one or defending against one, the hearing is quick and the paperwork is unforgiving.
An empty wooden bench in a sunlit courthouse corridor with arched windows
How the firm works a family matter
Family matters at Cornerstone Law Group are heard most often in Juvenile and Domestic Relations court, and the firm's lawyers are there regularly. Mark J. Dahlberg, Joseph M. Kirchgessner and Nikkita M. Rivera practice family law, Carolyn E. Dahlberg brings family law and guardian ad litem work, and Thomas Woehrle, who has practiced since 1978, handles family law and civil litigation.
Carolyn is a certified guardian ad litem for children in seven jurisdictions around Fredericksburg. That matters for a parent because she has seen, from the court's side, what a judge looks for when a child's interests are at stake.
The firm's lawyers each keep a practice of their own, but you are not passed from firm to firm. If a family matter turns criminal, or needs an estate plan, or touches a business, the next lawyer is down the hall.
Chapter 03
What to bring, and what happens next
Call (540) 898-8881 for a free consultation. Bring any court order or agreement already in place, the names and birth dates of the children, a plain account of the current schedule, and a list of income, assets and debts. If there is a protective order, bring it and every notice you have received about a hearing date.
The Fredericksburg office is at 2016 Lafayette Blvd, Suite 101, and the firm has offices across Northern and Central Virginia. Domestic violence victims who need immediate help can reach the hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.
Carolyn E. Dahlberg is a certified guardian ad litem for children in Henrico, Hanover, Caroline, Spotsylvania, the City of Fredericksburg, King George and Stafford.
Certified guardian ad litem
A lawyer who speaks for the child.
A guardian ad litem is a lawyer appointed to look after a child’s interests in a case, separate from what either parent wants. Carolyn E. Dahlberg, the firm’s managing partner, is certified to serve in these courts:
- Henrico
- Hanover
- Caroline
- Spotsylvania
- City of Fredericksburg
- King George
- Stafford
Read her background on the attorneys page, see where to meet the lawyers on the offices page, or contact the firm to ask about your own case. A divorce comes with its own questions of fault and separation; those are set out under divorce.