Property Divisions in a Georgia Divorce: A Complete Guide
Georgia, like most other states, is an equitable distribution state. This rule has two components. First, all property in a divorce, including debts and assets, must be divided equitably. In Cobb County family courts, equitably is usually, but not always, the same as equally. Furthermore, the divorce cannot be an unfair financial burden on either […]
The Georgia Three-Step
We admit this title is not quite as catchy as the Texas Two-Step. However, for over half of Georgia families, a divorce is, or at least should be, a three-step process. About 54 percent of households are headed by a single parent, the mom and/or dad has been married before, the parents are unmarried, some […]
Top Ten Child Custody Factors in Cobb County
In Georgia, and most other states, all parenting time and child custody decisions must be in the best interests of the child. This phrase usually refers to the custody/parenting time process, as opposed to the result. Slightly different laws apply to parenting time and custody decisions. Georgia has a co-parenting law which presumes that children […]
Alimony in Georgia: What You Should Know
Spousal support made national headlines in the late 2010s. For about fifty years, obligees (people receiving support) had to report receipts as income, and obligors (people paying support) could deduct the payments. The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act reversed these roles. This federal law made receipts nonreportable and payments nondeductible. The jury is still […]
Divorce Month 2022
The divorce filing rate usually drops sharply in the fourth quarter of the year. Before the winter holidays, many feuding couples agree to bury the hatchet so they can make it through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then, almost on December 26, the Christmas season stops, and the Valentine’s Day season begins. As this marketing campaign intensifies, […]
A Guide to Prenuptial Agreements in Georgia
Many states have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. The UPAA streamlines the many laws and regulations in this area, so it easier to make and break a prenuptial agreement act. Unfortunately, Georgia is not one of these jurisdictions. The Peachtree State still has a web of laws which touch on this subject. As a […]
Complete Guide to Divorce Over 60 in Cobb County
For many years, divorce was illegal in Ireland. So, if their marriages disintegrated, the spouses faced some tough choices. Some people briefly established residency in another country where divorce was legal. Others obtained an informal “Irish divorce.” They remained legally married but lived separate lives. For many years, among people in Georgia over 60, an […]
The (Somewhat) Changing Face of Alimony in Marietta Divorce Cases
From a financial standpoint, spousal support is one of the most controversial elements in a marriage dissolution case. Some jurisdictions have substantially rewritten their alimony laws in recent years, and some have not changed their laws at all. But Regardless of state law alterations, big changes are coming in January 2019. Many people (mostly divorced […]
Protective Orders Limiting Parental Visitation
The Paulding County Superior Court denied a defendant’s request to set aside a protective order that his wife had issued against him, claiming that the order prevented him from visiting his four children. The trial court also refused to modify the order so that, in accordance with his already established visitation rights, he could see […]
Georgia’s Supreme Court Reviews Child Custody Case
Cobb County Superior Court granted custody of three children to their maternal grandparents, but Georgia’s Court of Appeals reversed that decision, returning the children to their mother. The Court examined the evidence and felt that the mother “had a stable job and living environment, had completed substance abuse treatment and passed drug tests, had and […]
