Articles by Joe Verser

I receive phone calls several times a year from people who begin: “I bought a house last year with my girlfriend; we broke up, and now I need to take her name off the deed.” How [Read More…]

There is a saying in law that “a will speaks at death.” If that is true, some wills say quite a lot about how a person felt about his or her spouse. The meaning behind [Read More…]

Like most legal questions, this question can be answered with “it depends.” At first blush, it seems horribly unfair that an injured person who receives money from a personal injury settlement would be required to [Read More…]

As a trial lawyer, I relish standing in front of juries and judges. For me, the thrill of a trial far surpasses many of the other highs that life has to offer. The client, however, [Read More…]

A new car is much pricier in 2021 than it was in 1975. A trip to the emergency room also costs much more than it did in 1975. 1975 — that is the year in which Virginia’s [Read More…]

As an attorney, I am often asked to review statements that are about to be made, or have been made, and give an opinion on whether the statement is defamatory. The law of defamation is [Read More…]

“Ours is a government of laws, and not of men,” John Adams once famously said. And when it comes to those laws, the question has been asked, “Who decides?” True, our laws are passed by [Read More…]

I hate to break this to you, but this question cannot be answered on a billboard or in a TV commercial. Valuing an injury case, and recommending settlement, is based upon a number of factors, [Read More…]

No doubt, buying a new home can be stressful. But to find defects, problems and surprises after closing, that’s infuriating. Sometimes it’s bad enough to call a lawyer. This column is designed to make a [Read More…]

I live in Poquoson, which has approximately 85 miles of shoreline. As I scan the shoreline from the water, I see homes, piers and boathouses. Thinking like a lawyer, I cannot imagine that all those [Read More…]

A wise lawyer (one of my partners) is fond of saying “An agreement is only as binding as the integrity of the person who signs it.” Absent the integrity, the agreement will mean nothing to [Read More…]

My three-year-old son, Bowen, runs to hug and pet every dog he sees. It doesn’t matter how big or how ugly, the boy loves dogs. My stomach clenches every time he runs toward a strange [Read More…]