Retirement Benefits in an Athens GA contested divorce

Retirement Benefits in an Athens GA contested divorce

Athens Georgia divorce attorney

Community property includes accrued or vested retirement benefits. Therefore they need to be divided in a divorce. Retirement benefits that fall under Marital property include military pensions, veterans educational benefits, ERISA funds, IRAs, Keoghs, Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPS), 401K and 403K plans, etc.

Some retirement benefits are not considered as Community property. These are:
• Social Security payments
• Compensation for military injuries
• Workers compensation disability awards
Regardless of the length of the marriage, retirement benefits must be discussed and settled. For instance, the petition, marital settlement agreement and judgment must all provide either for the partys waiver of retirement benefits or the division of any such benefits. A party should waive retirement benefits only if that spouses share is worth very little.

There are two options for dividing retirement benefits: (1) the present-day valuation buy-out, and (2) division into two accounts. In the first, the spouse without the retirement benefits takes the present-day value of his or her interest in the retirement benefit and exchanges it for something else of equal value, like cash or other assets. Stock options and pension plans where a person must work for a certain number of years may be worth more than you think. It is advisable to use the services of a professional pension actuary or appraiser prior to taking a decision.

When dividing a retirement account, you must make sure you dont lose any tax advantages. A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is needed to transfer a share of retirement funds from the spouse participating in the retirement plan to the other spouse.

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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.

Athens GA Divorce Lawyer | Oconee County Georgia attorney

Oconee County Georgia attorney

A GA divorce or dissolution of marriage, can be filed by either party to terminate the marital relationship. Upon completion of a GA divorce, the spouses are restored back to single status. The judge may also issue any required orders for child support and custody, alimony and the division of community and separate properties and debts.

There are currently no provisions for a simplified divorce in GA. A general divorce must be filed on either no fault grounds or on fault grounds.

A separation can be filed by a married individual desiring to maintain the marriage but physically separate and try to sort any problems in the marriage.

An annulment is sought in order to nullify the marriage and discontinue its existence, returning the parties to their past single status, as if they never married. Annulments are most often sought by people who feel stigmatized by the status of being divorced, or for ease of remarriage in their particular religion. If there are children born of the marriage, an annulment may not be granted, and the marriage can only be dissolved by divorce.

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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.

Oconee County GA divorce lawyer

Oconee County GA divorce lawyer

Adultery and Desertion in Athens-Clarke County Georgia

Cheating refers to the consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not their married spouse.

Cheating by either spouse can be a ground grounds for divorce in GA . An extramarital affair in GA is defined as intercourse with a person other than his/her spouse. Therefore, same sex intercourse constitutes Cheating in GA .

Proof of An extramarital affair can obviously be tough. Confessions by one spouse to another will be considered at with extreme caution and generally must be corroborated by independent evidence. But, seldom does direct proof of Adultery exist. Circumstantial evidence is allowed. Cheating committed after a separation of the parties will be a grounds for divorce.

Divorce law in GA allows for divorce by demonstrating that one party has deserted the other. Three elements should be proved to get a divorce in GA for desertion:

1) Willful Absence--The purported wrongdoer should have the intention to desert. The absence must be willful and not justified by the conduct of the other spouse or with the other spouses consent.

2) Cessation of Cohabitation--This may be proven by either showing physical absence or denial of conjugal relations with the intention of casting him/her off as a spouse completely.

The desertion must be for a year and be continuous for that year and for that period immediately before the filing of the divorce petition.

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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.

Athens Georgia spousal maintenance lawyers

Athens Georgia spousal maintenance lawyers

maintenance payments are happening and well in the Georgia divorce system. If you earn substantially more money than a spouse to whom you have been married for a lot of years, there is a good chance you will be directed to pay some maintenance. But, maintenance generally isnt awarded for short marriages or the sspouses earn almost the same amount.

If you get a spousal support order and your spouse refuses to make the required payments, start quick legal action to enforce the order through a contempt proceeding or an earnings assignment order. Spousal support have the same force as any other court order and, if dealt properly, can be enforced with the very realsitc chances of obtaining timely payments. When required, a judge can jail a reluctant payor to prove that it means business.

Alimony is of three types:
• Permanent spousal support - the paying party continues making the payments till death or till the party granted the payments remarries.
• Temporary spousal maintenance – the alimony payments are made for a short period of time to assist the receiving spouse to stand alone once again.
• Rehabilitative spousal support – is given to to help a spouse with lower employability or earning ability become adjusted to a new post-marital life.

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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 family law attorneys

Madison County GA family law attorneys

Custody in GA

"Child custody" is a legal terminology that is often used by family courts to describe the rights and responsibilities of divorced parents and their small children, the residency or placement of the children, and the relationship and/or amount of contact the children have with each parent. When divorced parents are unable to decide on such issues, the courts are usually left with the tough job of deciding the most suitable custodial arrangement for the children and parenting plan for the parents. The more parents understand what is involved in child custody determinations, the more knowledgable they will be in making decisions concerning their children after a divorce.

Each parents rights and responsibilities to his or her minor children include decisions regarding the raising and general welfare of the children on issues like the childrens education, medical care, dental care, and religion. Such rights and responsibilities are commonly known as "legal custody" of the children.

The residency or placement of children refers to the place the children will live and spend the majority of their time. Many time, a child will live with one parent more than the other parent, and the parent that the child lives with the most will typically be responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. In certain cases, the child will reside equally with both parents, close to equally with both parents, or live a significant amount of time with each parent and the parents will share in the responsibilities and day-to-day care of the child.

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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.

Athens-Clarke County GA Grandparent rights lawyer

Athens-Clarke County GA Grandparent rights lawyer

Georgia Grandparents visitation rights

Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) is a landmark case concerning the visitation rights of grandparents. The Supreme Court held that it is a fundamental liberty of parents to make decisions concerning their childs custody. It includes the right to determine when and with whom minor children can spend their time, and is applicable to time spent with grandparents.

When hearing a petition filed by grandparents for visitation rights, judges almost always consider the decision and wishes of the custodial parent. Consideration is given to the objections of the parent about the visitation of the grandparents. Even in the ruling of the Troxel case, the U.S. Supreme Court advised parents to take a soft attitude. It urged the parents to try building an friendly bonding between the grandparents and grandchildren. Most legal experts believe that one of the best method to resolve such a conflict is to discuss the issue with the parents rather than involving the legal system. Discussions can take place openly, through attorneys, through mediation, or through some form of alternative dispute resolution. Communication between the parents and grandparents can eliminate misunderstandings and can prove to be far more productive than intervention of the legal system, while also preserving the relationship.

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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.

Athens GA Child Custody Plans

Athens GA Child Custody Plans

Athens-Clarke County GA custody attorneys

For hundreds of divorced and separated parents with children, there is a simple explanation as to why they ended up with the child custody and visitation arrangement they have the court determined it. The judge determined the parenting arrangement based on what the judge believed was in the childs best interest.

Judges do not generally make the child custody decision or finalize the parenting plan arrangement. In fact, generally, the judge will not make the child custody decision for the parents. It is generally if the parents are unable to reach an agreement on child custody that the judge will determine the parenting arrangement for them. If the judge makes the child custody decision for the parents, it is generally referred to as a final judicial order or judgment on child custody.

When the judge selects a parenting plan for the parents, it will generally result in one or both parents being upset or feeling a sense of loss. Generally, a parent feels as though he or she won child custody while the other parent feels that he or she "lost" child custody. There are times when both parents are disappointed with the decision of the judge. It is never the case that both parents feel like they won when the court makes the child custody decision.

To avoid an arbitrary decision taken by the court, you must understand how child custody decisions are made and the laws in Georgia. How judges have decided in the past and the factors that influences the decisions is information that will be useful to you.

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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.