Practitioners in the area of family law frequently represent ex-spouses and parents in proceedings claiming contempt of a prior divorce decree or child custody order. Typically, those proceedings commence with the filing of a “petition” in an action assigned its own new case number. The petitioner’s...
In actions for divorce, Georgia courts often face requests to ratify the parties’ agreements resolving issues of property division, alimony, payment of attorneys’ fees, and even child custody and child support, and to incorporate those settlement agreements into final judgments and decrees of divorc...
Although less frequently relied upon as grounds for divorce nowadays, adultery and acts of cruel treatment by a spouse continue to play prominent roles in divorce proceedings. Nonetheless, one spouse’s condonation of the other’s adulterous acts or cruel behavior can significantly impact a right to d...
A prior article explored the use of imputed income for determinations of child support, alimony, and attorney’s fees in Georgia divorce actions. As that article discussed, Georgia law has permitted utilization of a party’s earning capacity, rather than gross income, to determine the amounts of chi...
In family litigation, attorneys have been known to make written or oral assertions that an opposing spouse or parent committed criminal acts such as physical/sexual abuse or illegal drug usage. The accused person sometimes labels those assertions false and defamatory. In some instances, defamation l...