Posts by Scott Shaw
Am I Required to List the Noncustodial Parent as a Contact on School and Medical Forms that I Fill Out for My Child?
While one parent usually receives primary physical custody in a divorce or paternity action, it is not uncommon for parents to share joint legal custody, either by agreement or by court order. The law favors joint legal custody, which requires both parents to be involved in major decisions involving their child with respect to medical…
Read MoreCan I Move Out of State if I Have Custody of My Child?
If you or your spouse has filed for divorce, and there is no current custody order concerning your child, neither of you can remove the child from the state of Georgia without the consent of the other parent. This law remains in effect so long as your divorce is going on. Once you have a…
Read MoreMy Ex-Wife Was Supposed to Refinance Our Marital Home After Our Divorce, but She Didn’t. What Can I Do?
It is fairly common for one party to a divorce to be awarded the marital home through the property division process. Typically, that party also will be responsible for paying any mortgage loan that is secured by the marital home. Since mortgage loans taken out by married couples usually are joint loans owed by both…
Read MoreHow Does Bankruptcy Affect Your Divorce?
Filing for bankruptcy during your divorce proceedings does impact the progression of your divorce, at least to some degree. A bankruptcy filing does not stop things like child custody, visitation, and child support from being ordered by the judge in your divorce case. However, filing for bankruptcy will stop the division of your debts and…
Read MoreWhat Happens to Your 401(k) Plan During a Divorce?
In a Georgia divorce, all marital property must be divided equitably between the parties. Marital property is any property that was acquired by either party during the marriage, no matter in whose name it is titled. 401(k) plans and other retirement accounts, no matter which party owns them, can be subject to division by the…
Read MoreHow is Property Divided in a Divorce in the State of Georgia?
Under Georgia divorce law, it is presumed that property should be divided equitably between the parties. Equitable division, however, does not mean the same thing as equal division or a 50-50 split. Rather, equitable means what the court considers to be fair and reasonable, depending on the circumstances If two spouses can agree on how…
Read MoreCan My Teenager Decide Where He or She Wants to Live?
There is no magic age at which a child has the power to decide where he or she will live when parents are divorced or separated. While the court will take a child’s opinion into account when making a child custody determination, its decision still must be based on the best interest of the child,…
Read MoreWhat Constitutes a Change in Circumstances for a Child Custody Modification?
Court orders concerning a child rarely remain the same over a child’s 18 years of life. As life circumstances for each parent and child change, custody orders also may need to change. Once a court issues a child custody order about a child, it can only be changed when one party files a petition with…
Read MoreWho Gets the Frequent Flyer Miles in a Divorce?
When you think about property division in a divorce, most people think about real estate, bank accounts, cars, and personal property. However, if one or both spouses travel frequently, especially internationally, there may be hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles at stake, which can equate to a great deal of first-class air travel that…
Read MoreWorking with an Ex-Spouse Following Your Divorce
When you and your spouse own and operate a business together, there are many business issues that you will need to sort out if you decide to get divorced, aside from the standard issues of child custody and visitation arrangements and who gets to keep the house. More specifically, you will have to determine whether…
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