A Blog

There are many reasons why someone may need to or want to change their name.  In Georgia once a person reaches the age of majority (18 years old) they can seek to have their name changed.  This Name Change Petition is filed in the Superior...

Georgia Child Support payments are required to be paid pursuant to an income deduction order, but the parties have the right to waive that requirement.  An income deduction order ("IDO") is an order signed by a judge that is served on...

The most common complaint clients have about their lawyers are typically in relation to communication with the lawyer regarding the case.  Indeed, when the State Bar of Georgia sanctions an attorney, many of those issues are related to poor...

The Many Different Ways to Collect Child Support Arrears – Bring the Hammer Down! I suppose there are as many reasons or excuses given for a failure to pay court ordered child support as there are leaves of grass in a field. All excuses aside,...

Child Support - How long is it Paid and What about Multiple Children of Different Ages Georgia Law strictly requires that child support be paid until the “child reaches the age of majority, dies, marries or becomes emancipated, whichever first...

Appointment of a Guardian ad Litem in Georgia Family Law Cases Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.9 governs the Appointment, Qualifications and Role of a Guardian ad Litem (“GAL”). A GAL is appointed by a Superior Court or Juvenile Court Judge...

Court Mandated Programs in Domestic Relations Cases: The Parenting Seminar. Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8 sets out that Superior Courts may establish a program to educate parents in family law cases as to the possible effects of divorce cases and...

Temporary Hearing in Georgia Family Law Cases: The Uniform Superior Court Rules. Domestic Relations cases are defined in Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.1 and include the following types of cases. A Divorce case regarding child support, child custody...

From time to time one or both parents express a desire to have physical custody change automatically upon a certain date or upon a set of circumstances. I have to inform the parent or parents that this is not permitted in Georgia and thus it cannot be...

I am frequently asked whether it makes any difference who files first in a Divorce Case. The legal answer is that it really does not matter. When a Plaintiff files a Complaint for Divorce, the Defendant has the right to file a Counterclaim for Divorce...

This is a matter of Federal and State Taxation Law, and not necessarily a law created or governed by State based Divorce and/or Child Support Laws. However, in a Divorce Order, or in a Child Support Order, the matter of which parent is entitled to...

Many aspects of State Law do not jibe with Federal Laws.  One of these areas is related to the issuance of a Passport to a minor child. In Georgia and most other States, the mother of a child born outside of wedlock has Sole Legal and Physical...

Georgia Law provides for two separate and distinct types of Custody for Minor Children.  Physical Custody and Legal Custody. Physical Custody relates to which parent the child physically lives with.  Typically there is a Primary Physical...