child support
Georgia has adopted the “income shares” model to calculate child support. This approach recognizes both parents’ obligation to contribute to the support of the child. Here is an example of the basic child support obligation (“BCSO”):
Each parent is responsible for a portion. If the father earns 35% of the combined income, he will be responsible for 35% of the BCSO. If the mother earns 85% of the total combined income, she will be responsible for 85% of the BSCO. The non-custodial parent pays his or her percentage of the BCSO to the custodial parent regardless of which parent earns more money.
The statute permits variation from the basic child support obligation based on pre-existing obligations for other children, health insurance costs, child-care expenses, shared physical custody arrangements, alimony, visitation expenses and other reasonable expenses.
The child support obligation continues until the child reaches the age of 18 or graduates high school, whichever is later, but not past the age of 20. Medical expenses, insurance, and post secondary education expenses should be considered and incorporated into the parties’ settlement agreement.
Neither parent is obligated to support a child after graduation from high school. However, if a settlement agreement provides for such support and it is made part of the final order, the courts will enforce the agreement of the parties by contempt.
child custody
Child custody refers to the legal guardianship of the children in a divorce case. In Georgia, there are two forms of custody: legal and physical. In almost all cases the parents are awarded joint legal custody over the children, which means that they both have a right to access school and medical records and participate in the child’s life decisions. The parties can agree on who has final say in matters relating to religion, education, extra-curricular activities and medical decisions.
Physical custody refers to who has custody of the child at any given time, whether at home, on vacation, at school, and so on. The parties can agree on who is the custodial parent with primary physical custody, and who is the noncustodial parent. If the parties get along, live close by and earn approximately the same amount, shared custody may be in the best interest of the children. In shared physical custody each parent has custody of the children approximately 50% of the time.
When deciding issues regarding child custody, courts in Georgia will consider the best interests of the child and the environment that will provide the most stability. The courts consider many factors, including:
• Suitability of each parent as custodian.
• Psychological, emotional and developmental needs of the child.
• Ability of the parents to communicate.
• Prior and continuing care that the parents have given the child.
• Wishes of the child.
• Safety of the child.
• Custodial agreements of the parents.
• History of domestic abuse
Alimony
In any Georgia county, alimony may be appropriate in certain situations and awarded over time or in one lump sum after a divorce settlement. Alimony is designed to assist a party in need after divorce. Alimony is generally not available in situations where both spouses worked during the marriage and can support themselves.
Today, it is most commonly ordered as “rehabilitative” payments for a limited period of time. A party is not entitled to alimony if the cause of the separation is that party’s adultery or desertion.
When determining whether alimony is to be awarded, courts look at a variety of criteria, including:
• The standard of living enjoyed by the couple.
• How long the marriage lasted.
• The income and assets of each spouse, including retirement accounts.
• The earning potential of each spouse.
• How long it would take to retrain the non-working spouse.
• The age of each spouse at the end of the divorce.
• How well the couple treated each other
Overall, when it is awarded, the trend is towards brief, rehabilitative alimony. Call for further evaluation of your particular case.