Atlanta Family Law Blog

Many Georgia residents choose the mediation or collaboration route for their divorces because they want to avoid the courtroom drama and stress. A common reason people give for choosing mediation is that they want to be avoid fireworks. Divorce is one situation where being nice is not always the best answer. There are situations when divorce litigation makes more sense than mediation.

Here are some indications that it might be better to hire a divorce attorney and head down the litigation route. Money and assets have a way of complicating divorce proceedings. The following financial situations are good reasons to choose litigation over mediation. The first is when one spouse earns significantly more than the other. The next is when both spouses earn equally but one spouse is more financially savvy than the other. Litigation is a good idea when both spouses have money, property and other assets that need to be divided.

Bipartisan representatives from Georgia and other states recently introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act in both legislative houses. This bill was drafted to make public child welfare organizations ineligible for federal funding if they are found to discriminate against foster and adoptive families based on marital status, gender identity or sexual orientation. Although similar legislation was introduced as early as 2011, it now enjoys far more support from both parties.

The Human Rights Campaign estimates that although there are around 400,000 U.S. children in some kind of foster care system and 104,000 children awaiting adoption, 30 states still have discriminatory laws against LGBT couples. Opponents like Newt Gingrich, however, argue that the new law will actually discriminate against child welfare agencies that maintain some kind of religious affiliation. He claims that this act will contribute to an increased number of provisions that work against such organizations. Others say that it will reduce the amount of public policy that is dictated by religious belief.

There has been a recent move by many lawmakers to end permanent alimony due to the fact that a decade-long marriage could end up saddling someone with a lifetime of financial obligation. If a couple in Georgia decides to divorce, the person with the highest income could be ordered to pay alimony until remarriage or death. Many lawmakers are of the opinion that the length of alimony payments should be based on the length of the marriage.

Those who support limiting alimony payments cite the financial burden it places on an individual and the lack of obligations that come with this type of support. While both welfare and unemployment are only available for a limited amount of time, alimony often has no set limit. Additionally, welfare and unemployment recipients often have to meet certain requirements, but alimony continues even if someone is not looking for a job or attempting to make themselves employable.

Georgia residents may be interested in a recent decision from the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The court held that a person's immigration status did not impact the ability to parent and granted custody to a young mother who has been fighting a child custody battle with the child's paternal grandparents. This decision received the trial's court's decision to give custody to the grandparents.

When the child was born, the mother was 17 and the father 15. They lived together with the boy's parents but never married. The paternal grandmother and the child's father are U.S. citizens. The paternal grandfather is a legal resident. When the mother moved out with the child, the grandparents filed an emergency motion for custody. The judge granted the request due to the girl's status as an undocumented immigrant.