Top Rated Family Law Attorney in Richmond, VA

Smith | Strong, PLC

| 5803 Staples Mill Road, Richmond, VA 23228

Visit: https://www.smithstrong.com

Phone: 804-325-1245

Fax: 804-482-2661

Selected To Rising Stars: 2015 - 2021

Licensed Since: 2008

Education: William & Mary Law School

Practice Areas:

Family Law (60%),
Estate Planning & Probate (30%),
Estate & Trust Litigation (10%)

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Attorney Profile

H. Van Smith practices family law, estate planning, and estate/fiduciary litigation across central Virginia, including from his offices in both the Richmond metropolitan area and Williamsburg, Virginia. Van also routinely provides strategic legal counsel to business owners, elected officials, professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and political consulting firms in long-term, retained attorney-client relationships.

He is the sole owner of SMITH STRONG, PLC and a member of the family law and estate planning sections of the Virginia State Bar, the American Bar Association, and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. Van is also a member of WealthCounsel, a national organization of elite estate planning attorneys, and Lawyers with Purpose, focusing on asset protection trust planning.

Each week, Van's practice preserves financial assets and protects futures as individuals and their families navigate divorce/custody transitions, estate planning through the retirement years, and elder law by avoiding impoverishment from nursing home costs.

Van has been featured several times in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Virginia Gazette, Daily Press, WRVA 1140AM, William & Mary News and UVA Today; he welcomes the opportunity to educate his community on divorce, custody, and family law issues in Virginia.

Van received the highly regarded Super Lawyers' Rising Star distinction in the area of family and matrimonial law in 2014 - 2020.

Van also earned the Legal Elite designation, based on a vote of his attorney peers, by the Virginia Business magazine, for 2015 - 2020, awarded to only to 2% of attorneys in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Mr. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree from William & Mary and received his law degree from William & Mary Law School.

Practice Areas

60%Family Law
30%Estate Planning & Probate
10%Estate & Trust Litigation

Focus Areas

Adoption, Alimony & Spousal Support, Child Support, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Paternity, Prenuptial Agreements, Estate Planning, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Living Wills, Power of Attorney, Probate & Estate Administration, Trusts, Wills, Will Contests

Selections

Rising Stars: 2015 - 2021

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Additional Sources of Information About H. Van Smith

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About Van Smith

Admitted: 2008, Virginia

Professional Webpage: https://www.smithstrong.com/bio/h--van-smith.cfm

Honors/Awards:

Awarded 2016 to 2021, the legal elite distinction, recognizing only 2% of the legal community in Virginia., Legal Elite, Virginia Business Magazine, 2020
Awarded 2016-2021, for attorney Van Smith's practice in family law and estate planning., Rising Stars, Virginia Super Lawyers, 2020
Avvo's Client's Choice Award, 2015
Richmond Times-Dispatch Reader's Choice Award, Lawyer, distinction, 2015
"10 Best Under 40" Attorneys for the State of Virginia, American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, 2014
William & Mary School of Law, Class of 2007, voted Most Likely To Become Law School Dean, 2007
TOP 10 Attorneys in Virginia: Family Law, Attorney and Practice Magazine, 2017
Family Law "10 Best Attorney" Selection for Virginia, American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, 2017
The American Society of Legal Advocates, Top 40 Under 40 Family Lawyers in Virginia, 2016
National Academy of Family Law Attorneys, Inc, Top 10 Attorney Award(Under 40), 2015
Avvo's Client Satisfaction Awardfor Family Law, 2013, 2014, 2015
The National Advocates, Top 100 Matrimonial and Family Lawyers, a nationwide recognition, 2014
Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad, Iraq, Honorary Iraqi Firefighter, 2004
Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers' Rising Star Award in Family & Matrimonial Law, 2017
Legal Elite, Virginia Business magazine, 2016
Virginia Business magazine, Virginia's Legal Elite for 2015 Award & Membership, 2015
American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, Family Law "10 Best" Attorneys for Virginia, 2015 - Present
National Academy of Family Law Attorneys Award for Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in Virginia, under the age of 40, 2014
Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers' Rising Star Award in Family & Matrimonial Law, 2014 & 2015
William & Mary, Benjamin Stoddert Ewell Award for Community Leadership, "selected on the basis of their outstanding participation and leadership on campus and/or community activities, and on the basis of their service and contribution to the school or community", 2003
Legal Elite,Virginia Business magazine, 2017
ThreeBestRated.com, Top 3 Divorce Lawyers in Richmond, Virginia, Certificate of Excellence, 2016

Bar/Professional Activity:

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
Virginia

Pro bono/Community Service:

National Professional Advisor Network, The American Cancer Society
CrossOver Healthcare Ministry: Smith Strong has supported CrossOver financially in its effort to provide free healthcare services to impoverished individuals in the greater Richmond, Virginia area, 2016
Project Hope: Smith Strong, PLC supported this non-profit organization through financial gifts and sponsorship attendance at annual dinner. The mission behind Project Hope is to help in the eradication of leprosy in Ethiopia, one family at a time, and providing a medical clinic to one of the most impoverished cities in Ethiopia.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Book, Legal Strength Series, The Ultimate Guide to Divorce & Custody in Virginia: Quickly Get Back to Fully Living Your Life, Word Association Publishers, published 2013
Provided hour and a half workshop to private investors group on estate planning, trusts and asset protection., Lead Speaker, Estate Planning Workshop: Secure Your Retirement & Avoid Going Broke in Your Elder Years, Lecture, Banking, Family, Individuals, Investment, Trusts, 2020
Report, The Seven Essential Steps for Divorce Planning, Published 2012.
Complex Assets in Divorce, National Business Institute, Henrico, Virginia, October 2017, Continuing Legal Education Course.
Two Phases of Estate Planning: Secure Retirement & Avoid Going Broke in Long Term Care, Retirement Training and Coaching Services, Inc, February 2017, Virginia Department of Military Affairs, Henrico, Virginia
Two Phases of Estate Planning: Secure Retirement & Avoid Going Broke in Long Term Care, Retirement Training and Coaching Services, Inc, July 2015, Fort Lee, Richmond, Virginia
Honest Advice and Tips on Investing for Your Retirement, Cornerstone Assembly of God Church, Presented 2013 in Chesterfield, Virginia
The Role of the Citizen Lawyer in Society, William & Mary School of Law, Presented 2006
The Two Wars in Iraq, Williamsburg Kiwanis, Williamsburg, Virginia, Presented at the Williamsburg Lodge and other venues, 2004

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Honorary Iraqi Firefighter. Awarded this honor by the Civil Defense Directorate of Iraq for his service to the fire and ambulance services of Iraq, while serving there as a civilian with the U.S. Department of Defense., 2004

Newsletters:

Monthly, printed, mailed newsletter with distribution of over 3,000 people across Central Virginia. Attorney Van Smith has authored this family law, estate planning, and estate/fiduciary litigation newsletter since 2012 - present., Strength for the Journey, a newsletter of Smith Strong, PLC law firm, Caregivers, Elders, Families, Financial Advisors, Individuals, Seniors

Educational Background: