Family Law

WORD TO THE WISE, BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT POSTINGS! With the popularity of Facebook and My Space, communicating on the internet has become the modern wave of our future. Not only are our children texting, emailing, and creating accounts with Facebook and My Space, parents, grandparents, and the like are catching up with the trend. Facebook and My Space are great…

This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it in any manner be construed to be, the giving of legal advice. This article is an update of a previous article drafted prior to the new child support guidelines actually going into effect. The day has finally arrived, Georgia’s new child support guidelines…

As many of you have learned, the Georgia Legislature passed new child support guidelines in 2005 and appointed a Commission to draft the guidelines along with the formula to calculate child support. Currently in Georgia, the law requires child support be based on a flat percentage calculated from the non-custodial parents gross annualized income. (O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15) The Court can…

When a child is the product of parents who are not married, only the mother of the child is entitled to legal rights and custody of the child, unless the father legitimates the child. O.C.G.A. § 19-7-25. If a father wants to obtain legal rights to a child, he must file an action for legitimation under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-22. Pruitt…

Why Custodial Parent’s Re-location Is A Sufficient Change Of Condition To Support A Petition For Modification Of Custody By The Non-custodial Parent. A REVIEW OF THE RECENT SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA DECISION, BODNE V. BODNE, , 277 Ga. 445, 588 S.E.2d 728, (2003) BY: Candace M. Williams Preface This article attempts to identify recent case law involving Petitions for Change…

Short answer, YES. Ever wonder whether your innocent text message, Facebook posts/texts/emails are searchable, hence traceable in a divorce case? We see it all the time, a friend on Facebook cries out to her Facebook friends about her argument with her husband who is also her “friend,” on Facebook. The post was embarrassing, and the husband’s co-workers see it, and…

In the 1960s, the “traditional family” consisted of a first-time married mother and father raising their children together under one roof. This picture is no longer an accurate reflection of today’s modern, nuclear family. Today, less than half of American minor children are living in a home with married heterosexual parents in their first marriage. Forty-one percent of children today…

Are you thinking about dating during your divorce? This is often a question we are presented with by clients during a pending divorce case. You may think that you are free to start a new relationship once the decision is made to separate or divorce. Right? While the Courts do tend to view post-separation conduct and pre-separation conduct differently, there…

(Qualified Domestic Relations Order)? Even while you’re going through the difficulty of a divorce, you need to make informed financial decisions regarding the division of the property that you and your spouse have accumulated during your marriage. Retirement savings are one of the largest assets many people own, and therefore are an important issue in divorce proceedings. If you’re planning…

Many clients often wonder about the child dependency exemption when filing for a divorce. The question becomes which parent will be able to claim the child or children on a federal and state tax return during the separation process and long-term after the divorce has...