Atlanta Family Law and Personal Injury Blog

One of the most important things that is done at the beginning of the divorce legal process is obtaining information from the other side that will assist with the case. Information needed to prepare for a divorce or custody action may come in the form of bank statements, pay stubs, travel receipts and other forms of documents that will assist the court in determining how assets are divided or how much assistance a spouse or child may be entitled to. The time generally provided for discovery to be completed is six months.

The biggest fear for noncustodial parents behind on child support is an angry judge sentencing them to a period of jail time for the infraction. Typically, the court has the power to encourage compliance with it’s orders and decrees by issuing fines and in some cases, jail time, if conditions are not followed.

In most cases the court has appointed a Guardian ad Litem to the case due to a concern expressed by either parent regarding the child’s well-being. The court will be relying on the GAL to provide independent advice on what is in the child’s best interest. A GAL investigation can take several months and involve several requests to interview the parties, the child, review documents and make in-home assessments of living conditions.

There are several scenarios mentioned in the article that provide beneficial uses of prenuptial agreements for persons that are not considered wealthy. Attorneys regularly report working with couples that want to protect a business that they own or simply want finances outlined prior to the marriage. They are generally considered useful for couples that have an existing wealth imbalance or a possible one in the future.

In the State of Georgia, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO) are utilized to fairly divide pension-related assets amongst married couples. Essentially, the QDRO treats the recipient spouse as a plan participant for the purpose of receiving a distribution from the pension. The answer as to whether or not pension or retirement accounts will be subject to equitable division is different in each case.

Unfortunately, this can expose children to adult situations that they are not emotionally equipped to handle. Experts note that the trauma of a divorce for some children can impact other areas of their lives including grades, social connections and mental health. For this reason, it is important to limit the child’s exposure to some of the adult-based scenarios that arise during a divorce proceeding.