Child Custody
Imputing Earning Capacity for Child Support, Alimony, Equitable Distribution, and Attorney’s Fees Issues
It’s a common problem in child custody and divorce cases. One party is underemployed or unemployed, often for a long time. They may indicate they’re unable to get a job because of their child’s schedule. They’re insistent that minimum wage is their only option for income. At the same time, you’re working hard and feel like…
Read MoreA Word from Scott Shaw: Can Step-Parents or Non-Relatives Get Custody of Children in Their Lives?
Back in 2016, I wrote a blog post where the answer to the question of whether a person could get custody or have visitation rights with step-children or unrelated children they cared for was no. It didn’t matter if they were the children of a girlfriend, boyfriend, or neighbor, it was not permitted under Georgia law. Either…
Read MoreA Word from Scott Shaw: Do I Have Any Legal Rights to a Child in Georgia?
It may sound strange but there may be circumstances where no adult has a legal right to a child even if their name appears on the birth certificate. A recent case came into the office involving a child whose mother died in a car crash. The mother and a female friend raised the child together…
Read MoreWhat Are Your Responsibilities if You Don’t Have Custody of Your Kids?
It’s very common in divorce or custody agreements to designate a single custodial parent. But even if you’re the non-custodial parent, that doesn’t mean you no longer have responsibilities to be there for your child. There are challenges you will face, but establishing a co-parenting relationship with your former partner will benefit everyone. You’ll discover…
Read MoreWhy Consistency in Co-Parenting is Key
Co-parenting is the shared responsibility for raising your children even after you and your partner have split up. This experience is very beneficial for children who don’t see their parents as adversaries. They learn essential life skills, like cooperation, that will carry them through their development well into adulthood. For the parents, one of the…
Read MoreA Word from Scott Shaw: Can My Child Choose Not to Visit Their Other Parent?
We hear it all the time. A child says “I don’t want to visit; do I have to go?” They may be pouty, upset, or straight-forward about it. How do you, as the primary parent, respond? You may have personal feelings about your child choosing to visit with their other parent, but you still want to know…
Read MoreA Word from Scott Shaw: International Child Custody Cases
When is custody decided in Georgia, another state, or in another country? International child custody cases are things that most attorneys find daunting. They aren’t something that just any attorney can handle. At Shaw Law, we do handle international child custody cases. The first issue that needs to be addressed in international child custody cases…
Read MoreA Word from Scott Shaw: The Law has Changed for the Custody Election of a Child Aged 14 Year or Older in the State of Georgia
In the State of Georgia, a child from the ages of eleven to thirteen years has the right to make their choice of parents in a custody case known to the court. The child’s decision is not binding on the court, but the court must listen. A fourteen-year-old, or older, however, has much more power. A child…
Read MoreA Word from Scott Shaw: What gave her the right?
In the mid-1990’s when I began as a child custody attorney, and built up expertise, I wrote of a moment that I summarized as “who gave her the right?” What I meant by this is that mothers assumed they were entitled to child custody, they acted as if they were entitled to child custody, fathers…
Read MoreJoint Physical Custody in Georgia Courts: What the Science Tells Us vs. Conventional Wisdom
Historically joint physical custody arrangements, where both parents have roughly 50% of the time with the children has been disfavored in Georgia courts. One judge, in Fulton County Superior Court, went one step beyond simply disfavoring joint physical custody arrangements in that not only would he never order joint physical custody, he would never enter an…
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