divorce attorney

In Georgia, parties cannot obtain a divorce except on one of 13 grounds allowed by law. OCGA §19-5-3. The sixth ground under the statute is “[a]dultery in either of the parties after marriage.” OCGA §19-5-3(6).

Generally, a married person commits adultery when he or she “voluntarily has sexual intercourse with a person other than his [or her] spouse.” OCGA §16-6-19; Owens v. Owens, 247 Ga. 139, 140 (1981). Adultery includes “extramarital homosexual, as well as heterosexual, relations.” Owens v. Owens, 247 Ga. 139, 140 (1981). It is difficult to prove adultery with direct evidence and, often, the party only has circumstantial evidence. In Georgia, “[a]dultery may be proved by circumstantial evidence, but such evidence must infer as a necessary conclusion that adultery was committed.” Johnson v. Johnson, 218 Ga. 28 (1962). If the evidence can lead to more than one interpretation, it is not sufficient to prove adultery. Id.

In Georgia, parties cannot obtain a divorce except on one of 13 grounds allowed by law. OCGA §19-5-3. The fifth ground under the statute is “[p]regnancy of the wife by a man other than her husband, at the time of the marriage, unknown to the husband.” OCGA §19-5-3(5).

This ground is fairly straightforward, but all of the elements must be sufficiently proven. The Petitioner must prove that the wife was pregnant at the time of the marriage, that the child is not the husband’s biological child, and that the husband did not know that the wife was pregnant with someone else’s child. Since the party must prove that the child is not the husband’s biological child, there must be a paternity test and, thus, if the divorce is based solely on this ground, the parties will have to wait until after the child is born to obtain the divorce.

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar if the parties have children under the age of 18. See Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8. Forsyth County (Cumming) and Cherokee County (Ball Ground, Canton, and Woodstock) are part of the 9th judicial district. All of the counties in this 9th judicial district work jointly to offer their seminar for divorcing parents throughout the judicial district.

The schedule for September 2010 is as follows:
• Gainesville (New Hall County Courthouse, 225 Green Street SE) – Thursday, September 2, 5:00pm – 9:00pm; Thursday, September 16, 5:00pm – 9:00pm
• Dahlonega (North Georgia College and State University, Continuing Education Bldg., Highway 60) – Wednesday, September 8, 9:00am – 1:00pm
• Blairsville (Haralson Civic Center, 165 Welborn Street) – Monday, September 13, 9:00am – 1:00pm
• Clarkesville (North GA Technical College, 1500 Hwy. 197 North) – Tuesday, September 14, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
• Woodstock (Woodstock Public Library, 7735 Main Street) – Saturday, September 18, 10:00am – 2:00pm
• Ellijay (Gilmer County Library, 268 Calvin Jackson Drive) – Monday, September, 20 1:00pm – 5:00pm
• Cumming (First Baptist Church Cumming, Kids Town Building, 1597 Sawnee Drive) – Saturday, September 25, 10:00am – 2:00pm

The cost of the seminar is currently $50.00 per person. There is no pre-registration. You can find additional information about these seminars at 9th Judicial Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution website.

In Georgia, parties cannot obtain a divorce except on one of 13 grounds allowed by law. OCGA §19-5-3. The fourth ground under the statute is “[f]orce, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage.” OCGA §19-5-3(4).

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that duress includes “any conduct which overpowers the will and coerces or constrains the performance of an act which otherwise would not have been performed.” Bryant v. Bryant, 192 Ga. 114, 116 (1941) quoting Dorsey v. Bryans, 143 Ga. 186, 188. Menace is “any overt act of a threatening character, short of an actual assault.” Bryant v. Bryant, 192 Ga. 114, 116 (1941) quoting Cumming v. State, 99 Ga. 662, 665 (27 S.E. 177). Thus, to obtain a divorce under this ground, you must prove that you were forced into the marriage and that, without the force, you would not have gotten married.

In Georgia, parties cannot obtain a divorce except on one of 13 grounds allowed by law. OCGA §19-5-3. The third ground under the statute is “[i]mpotency at the time of the marriage.” OCGA §19-5-3(3).

A party filing a Complaint for Divorce alleging impotency as a ground for the divorce must only allege that the impotency existed at the time of the marriage. Lovelace v. Lovelace, 179 Ga. 822, 830 (1934). The Petitioner does not have to allege that the Respondent knew of the impotency while she did not, nor that she “had not condoned the alleged impotency.” Id. Knowledge and condonation are potential affirmative defenses, which must be proved by the Respondent, and do not need to be alleged by the Petitioner in anticipation of these defenses. Id.

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar if the parties have children under the age of 18. See Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8. Fulton County (Alpharetta, Atlanta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell) offers its Family in Transition seminar at three different locations in the county. The following is a list of locations and schedule of seminars for the rest of the year:

• Saturday morning seminar once per month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Downtown Justice Center Building located at 160 Pryor Street, S.W., Courtroom G33, Atlanta, Georgia. Remaining 2010 dates – September 18, October 16, November 13, and December 18.
• Weekday morning seminar once per month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the South Fulton Service Center located at 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park, Georgia in the auditorium. Remaining 2010 dates – August 31, September 21, October 19, November 16, and December 21.
• Weekday evening seminar once per month from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Dorothy Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex located at 6500 Vernon Woods, Drive, Building B, Sandy Springs, Georgia. Remaining 2010 dates – September 9, October 7, November 4, and December 2.

Please note that both the South Fulton Service Center and the Dorothy Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex locations require pre-registration. The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person. You can find additional information about these seminars at Fulton County Families in Transition program website.

In Georgia, parties cannot obtain a divorce except on one of 13 grounds allowed by law. OCGA §19-5-3. The second ground under the statute is “[m]ental incapacity at the time of the marriage.” OCGA §19-5-3(2).

In Georgia, to have the mental capacity to be married, the party must be of sound mind and be at least 18 years of age (unless parental consent is provided). If either of these is lacking, the divorce can be based on the ground of mental incapacity so long as the incapacity is sufficiently proven.

In Georgia, parties cannot obtain a divorce except on one of 13 grounds allowed by law. OCGA §19-5-3. The first ground under the statute is “[i]ntermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity.” OCGA §19-5-3(1).

In Georgia, the prohibited degrees of relation are father and daughter/stepdaughter, mother and son/stepson, brother and sister (whole or half), grandparent and grandchild, aunt and nephew, or uncle and niece. OCGA §19-3-3(a). These marriages are void from their inception. OCGA §19-3-3(b). It should be noted that if a person marries another person to whom he/she knows is related, by blood or marriage, within one of these prohibited degrees, that person is subject to imprisonment. OCGA §19-3-3(a).

Because these marriages are void from inception, with this ground a person may get an annulment or a divorce. However, “where children are born or are to be born as a result of the marriage,” an annulment cannot be granted and the parties must pursue divorce. OCGA §19-4-1.

When one thinks of custody and visitation in a divorce case, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is: “When will I see my children?” An important aspect of visitation is not only when you will see your children, but also when you will be able to speak to them during the times in which your former spouse has custody/visitation. For many parents this is a no brainer – the children can speak to the other parent as often as they would like. In more adversarial divorces, however, this is not always the case. Sometimes one parent may feel that the other parent calls too often, disrupting his/her visitation or custodial time, or calls at inopportune times, when the children are doing homework or asleep.

Our family law firm recommends putting a clause in your settlement agreement addressing telephone visitation. It can be as simple as stating that the children may call the other parent at any time, but the parents may only once per day. It may also address issues such as one parent eavesdropping while the child(ren) is speaking to the other parent.

If you are unable to settle your divorce case and you believe telephone visitation may be an issue with your former spouse, be sure to bring it up to the Judge so that he/she may rule on it in the Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce and your rights will be protected.

As Atlanta divorce attorneys, we are often confronted with questions from parents who want to know more about joint physical custody and legal custody of their children. In order to answer these questions, further investigation is usually required on our end to discover exactly what the parent means by “joint custody.”

In Georgia, there are two aspects to custody: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to which parent has the right to make decisions concerning the care and welfare of the child. Physical custody refers to where the child will live on a daily basis. Absent serious misconduct by one of the parties, it is nearly routine in Atlanta child custody and divorce cases for the parties to be awarded joint legal custody of the children. This means that both parties are entitled to be made aware of all issues affecting the children’s welfare and that the parties must confer in good faith to try to reach an agreement regarding any major decisions affecting the children. Where the parties are granted joint legal custody, the court will also designate a mechanism for settling any disagreements between the parents (mediation, tiebreaking authority, etc.).

Joint physical custody is a different matter altogether. Many parents use the term “joint custody” when referring to the concept of 50/50 physical custody—an arrangement where the child spends equal amounts of time with each parent. This type of arrangement is most often set up so that the parents alternate week long periods with the child. There are many benefits to this type of custody arrangement, including giving the child the opportunity to build ongoing and lasting bonds with each parent. From a financial standpoint, it may also eliminate the need for either party to pay child support. If the parents cannot agree regarding joint custody, the Court will order that custody be awarded based upon the best interests of the child or children. O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3.