Athens Georgia Divorce Lawyer | GA Attorney

Athens Georgia child custody attorney – Athens-Clarke County family lawyers

Legal Custody & Physical custody in Georgia

Legal custody is the legal authority to take major decisions on the child’s behalf. Major decisions include where the child will go to school, the type of education, the form of religious upbringing, and non-emergency medical decisions.

Sole Legal Custody

The parent having the sole legal custody is the only person who has the legal authority to make major decisions on behalf of the child. These decisions include decisions regarding education, religion, and health care.

Joint Legal Custody

Joint legal custody means that both parents have the legal authority to make major decisions for the child. Remember that parents may have “joint legal custody” without having “joint physical custody.” Physical custody refers where the children live the majority of the time.

Sole Physical Custody

In sole physical custody, the child physically stays at one location. In most cases, the non-custodial parent is given generous visitation rights, including sleepovers.

Joint Physical Custody

Joint physical custody is also called “Shared Custody,” “Shared Parenting,” or “Dual Residence.” In type of custody, the children stay with one parent for part of the week or part of the year, and with the other parent during the remaining time. The time spent at each location is almost equal.

Birds Nest Custody
Birds nest custody refers to a situation when the children live in one central location, and the parents rotate in and out of the children’s home on a regular schedule.———————————
Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

Athens GA divorce attorneys – Grounds for divorce in Athens-Clarke County GA

To obtain a divorce on one of the twelve “fault” grounds, one should establish that there was some wrongdoing by one of the parties to the marriage. For example, one fault ground is adultery. Adultery in Georgia includes heterosexual and homosexual relations between a married individual and another individual. Desertion is another fault ground for divorce in Georgia. A divorce can be granted on the grounds that an individual has deserted his or her spouse willfully for at least a year.

Mental or physical cruel treatment, marriage between persons who are too closely related, mental incapacity at the time of marriage, impotency at the time of marriage, force or fraud in obtaining the marriage, pregnancy of the wife unknown to the husband at the time of the marriage, conviction and imprisonment for certain crimes, habitual intoxication or drug addiction, and mental illness are the other fault grounds.

Georgia has the option of no-fault divorce. In a no-fault divorce, you do not have to prove that your spouse is to be blamed for your decision to seek divorce, all you need to do is tell the court that you and your spouse have irreconcilable differences or have suffered an irremediable breakdown” of your marriage.
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Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

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Divorce and Property in Athens-Clarke County GA

One of the most difficult and complex areas of divorce is the division of marital property. Marital property is all assets obtained during the marriage, except for assets received by gift from a third party or by inheritance. Each party is entitled to an equitable share of all property obtained during the marriage. The Judge will determine on the division of marital property. Marital property will be divided equitably not necessarily equally amongst the spouses regardless of how the title to the property is held. There is no fixed formula or percentage amount used to distribute marital property.

In Athens GA, a spouse can request that fault must be taken into consideration in determining spousal support. You can forward this argument whether or not you filed for divorce on the basis of fault. If the higher-earning spouse is guilty of adultery, was abusive, or is for some other reason at fault for the divorce, the support payment may be higher. If there is only a fixed amount of support that your errant spouse can make, the judge shall not order an unrealistically huge payment.

Generally, the spouse who gets support has payments reduced because of fault. In GA the support payments (if any) can definitely influence how the marital property distribution is awarded, which is why it can become a very important part of the final outcome of any divorce.
Spousal support, also called alimony or maintenance, is meant to help a lower-earning spouse make it through the divorce and the transition into a new single life. Based on the length of the marriage and the degree to which one spouse was financially dependent on the other, support can last for many years. Spousal support falls into two broad categories: short-term support and long-term or permanent support. Reimbursement support is a kind of long-term support.

A spouse may also get temporary support before the divorce is final. Alimony is payment by one party to the other for the others support and maintenance. The court may award alimony to either the husband or the wife. Alimony can be for a limited period of time or until the spouse receiving alimony dies or remarries. Alimony may be paid in one payment of money or property, or it may be paid over a period of time.
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Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

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Child Support in Athens-Clarke County GA

Under Georgia law both parents are required to support their children until a child reaches the age of twenty, dies, graduates from high school, marries, is emancipated, or joins the military, whichever event occurs first. The non-custodial parent will be required to pay a reasonable amount of child support to the custodial parent for the child’s living expenses. Child support, in addition to a monthly or weekly sum, can also include such items like health insurance and payment of medical and dental expenses.

From January 1, 2007, the guidelines for determining child support based on a new income shares model which will take into account the income of both the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent became effective. The child support rules are a minimum basis for calculating the amount of child support and will apply as a rebuttable presumption in all legal proceedings involving the child support responsibility of a parent.

The Court will not direct parents to pay for college. However, parents may agree to pay child support beyond the age of 18 or to pay for college expenses.
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Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

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Child Custody cases in Oconee County GA

The well being of children is of major concern to the Court. Neither parent is for sure entitled to child custody. The court considers at the best interests of the child when deciding the proper parent to have custody. The judge looks at many factors when deciding custody. Those factors are the age and sex of the child, compatibility with each parent, and the ability of each parent to care for and nurture the child. A child above 14 years of age can decide which parent will have custody with the consent of the court. In election situations, however, the trial court has a wide latitude and discretion in deciding if the selected parent is a fit and proper person to have custody. As to a child at least 11 but not 14 years old, the court will look at the wishes, if any, and educational needs of the child in determining child custody between the parents, but the court will have complete discretion and the child’s desires will not be controlling. Law considers it important for a child to maintain a relationship with both parents; and so visitation rights are awarded to the parent who is not given legal custody of the child.

The court in its discretion can award joint child custody instead of sole child custody. There are two kinds of joint custody. Joint legal custody means that both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child. Joint physical custody means that physical child custody is shared by the parents in such a way to assure the child substantially equal time and contact with both parents. In awarding joint custody, the judge may order joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both.———————————
Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

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One spouse should have lived in the State of Georgia for 6 months or Georgia should have been the last domicile of the marriage. Parties should be considered separated in a legal sense before one can file for a divorce. Parties can be considered separated even if they are living in the same house if they are not sharing the same room and/or do not engage in a sexual relationship. If the parties agree, the divorce is considered uncontested. An uncontested divorce may be granted 31 days after the Defendant is served with the Divorce Petition. If there is disagreement as to any matter, the divorce will be obtained when the case reaches the courthouse, which may take many months.

Parties may be able to reach an agreement resolving all issues arising from the marriage, such as finances, division of property, and child custody and visitation of children. The agreement is presented to the Court as a Marital Settlement Agreement and, upon approval, made an order of the Court. The Courts order, called a Final Judgment and Decree, concludes the lawsuit. Yet, the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the issues will be resolved by the Judge or the jury. Whereas, a judge always determines matters of custody and visitation.
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Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

Madison County GA support lawyers – Athens-Clarke County family law

Revised Support Guidelines in Madison County Georgia

A contested divorce is one where the spouses fight so much over property or child custody that they are unable to reach an agreement, and instead take these issues to the judge to decide. The judge and court clerks are the major players in a contested divorce lawsuit. The jury cannot decide custody or visitation in Georgia, they can decide only financial issues. The Senate Bill 382 was passed by the GAGeneral Assembly in the 2006 legislative session and it significantly revised the entire structure of how child support is calculated in Georgia. The new guidelines address and codify many situations that generally arise in child support cases. For instance, the new rules have provisions that specifically address what happens when a parent suffers an involuntary loss of income. If a parent cannot afford his or her child support obligation due to an involuntarily termination from employment that causes in a loss of income of at least 25 percent, the guidelines provide that parent some protection. The new rules provide protection to a parent when the other parent becomes voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. In such cases the court is required to determine the causes for the parents occupational choices.
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Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

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Alimony in Athens GA

Alimony is an payment out of one party’s estate, made for the support of the other spouse when living separately. It may be either temporary or permanent.

A spouse will not be entitled to alimony if it is demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that the separation between the parties was due to that party’s adultery or desertion. In all cases where alimony is sought, the court should require evidence of the factual basis of the separation although one or both of the parties may seek a divorce, regardless of the grounds upon which a divorce is sought or granted by the court.

In all other cases in which alimony is requested, alimony is authorized, but is not required, to be awarded to either spouse according to the needs of the party and the ability of the other spouse to pay. When deciding whether or not to award alimony, the judge will consider evidence of the conduct of each spouse toward the other.

Should either party die before the courts order on the issue of alimony, any rights of the other party to alimony will survive and be a lien upon the estate of the dead spouse.———————————
Athens GA Divorce Lawyer – Athens GA Uncontested Divorce – Contested Divorce Attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

Spousal support in Georgia

Athens GA Divorce Lawyer

Spousal support can be awarded permanently. It helps to “get people back on their feet” after a divorce. Even though spousal support is generally reserved for longer marriages and/or when one spouse earns substantially more than the other, it is not always the case. Spousal support is generally dependent upon the paying spouse’s ability to pay and the receiving spouse’s requirement for support.

Periodic spousal support includes alimony payments made at pre-determined times for a pre-determined amount of time.

Lump sum spousal support is a one-time payment of alimony, made payable in a lump sum. Many times the law looks at lump sum alimony as property division, which can affect its tax status. If you’re going to make or receive a lump sum payment of spousal support, seek assistance of a lawyer.

Permanent maintenance is the payment of alimony for the duration of the receiving spouse’s life, made in periodic payments.

Rehabilitative spousal support is intended for rehabilitating the other party for a specified duration of time.

You should to consider the tax consequences of whatever kind of alimony you select. Typically, alimony is tax-deductible for the payor spouse, and taxable income for the recipient spouse. But, again, lump-sum alimony is often more complicated. Although if it may be expensive to hire an attorney, it may be well worth the cost.

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Georgia Family Law Lawyer – GA child custody attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.

Spousal support – Athens GA Divorce Attorney

Spousal support falls into two broad categories:
short-term support and long-term or permanent support.

Reimbursement support is a kind of long-term support. One party may also receive short term support before the divorce is final.

Under Georgia Code, any spouse may be awarded alimony as long as he or she is not guilty of desertion or adultery. When the parties are unable to agree on an amount, the court will consider these factors:

1. the participation each party had to the marital estate;
2. the duration of the marriage;
3. the future earning capacity and financial resources of each party;
4. the age and medical condition of each party;
5. the future earning capacity of each party;
6. the value of each party’s separate property;
7. the standard of living sustained during the marriage;
8. rehabilitative time one party may need to gain employment.

A former spouse might receive more than one kind of support at the same time. If a spouse is receiving more than one kind of support, say rehabilitative and short-term, then when that spouse is employed again, the rehabilitative support would cease. The short-term support however continues till its termination date.
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Handling Athens Georgia Child Custody – Support Lawyer- GA Visitation Cases

Georgia Family Law Lawyer – GA child custody attorney

Our family law firm handles cases in Athens, Georgia. Our Georgia divorce lawyers represent clients in Athens and the Athens-Clarke County area.