Before getting married in Georgia, there are several legal requirements a couple must be sure to meet. Just as there are legal requirements for marriage, there are legal requirements that must be met for a couple to get a divorce. 

If you are considering filing for a divorce, it may be helpful to understand the requirements you will need to meet to legally do so. An understanding of these requirements can help you make choices that could impact the outcome of your divorce. 

Residency 

To get a divorce in Georgia, your situation must meet the residency requirement. This means that either you or your spouse must have been a Georgia resident for at least six months before you file the petition for divorce. 

Grounds 

The other requirement you must meet involves having a legally valid reason to end your marriage. These legally valid reasons are called grounds, and Georgia recognizes 13 different grounds for divorce. 

The 13 Grounds for Divorce in Georgia: 

• The marriage is irretrievably broken 
• Intermarriage by people within the prohibited degrees of kinship 

• Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage 
• Impotency at the time of the marriage 
• Force, menace, duress or fraud in obtaining the marriage 
• Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband at the time of the marriage (and unknown to the husband) 
• Adultery during the marriage 

• Desertion 
• The conviction of a crime of moral turpitude that results in a prison sentence of two years or longer 
• Habitual intoxication 
• Cruel treatment 
• Incurable mental illness 

• Habitual drug addiction 

Most of the grounds for divorce are fault-based. Using a fault-based ground means that your spouse caused the need for divorce. However, you must be able to provide proof for whatever fault you choose or your petition for divorce may be denied. 

You can also get a divorce without blaming your spouse. To do this, you can use the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Your spouse cannot generally object to a divorce based upon this ground. 

Practically, you would probably want to allege both that the marriage is irretrievably broken along with any applicable fault ground or at least reserve the right to amend your petition should that be necessary. Which option you chose depends upon the privacy you want to retain as to the reason for the divorce as your petition is a public document. 

There is an absolute minimum amount of time, 30 days, between the time your spouse is served the divorce papers and the time the divorce is finalized. However, only in cases where the parties reach an agreement in advance will that minimum time frame be an issue. 

Having a full understanding of the legal requirements for divorce can be helpful to have before you ask your spouse for divorce. Every divorcing couple in Georgia must meet the residency requirement. However, your unique situation should influence the ground you choose, which could have a lasting impact on the outcome of your divorce. Contact Dreyer Law to schedule a free consultation. Dreyer Law can help you with every step of the divorce process.  

According to the Georgia Department of Human Services, more than 15 percent of the state’s children were being raised by family members other than their parents. For some families, parents have died leaving children in need of care. For other families, parents are caught in struggles of drug abuse or mental health problems. Whatever the reason, if you are raising your relatives’ children, you may wonder if you could be eligible to receive financial support to help. 

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services has established the state’s Kinship Navigator Program. This program is designed to provide support for people raising relatives’ children. While a kinship navigator relationship may be informally established, it is possible for people to request and receive child support. This can provide not only financial assistance but also medical care for children. 

One of the ways this can happen is by diverting existing child support payments from the originally intended recipient parent to the grandparent or other relative taking care of the kids. The Division of Child Services may assist in locating parents and even in establishing paternity as part of seeking child support. If support is ordered, this agency may be able to facilitate or participate in enforcing such an order. 

This information is not intended to provide legal advice, but is meant to give Georgia residents who may be raising grandchildren or other family members’ children insight into how they may be eligible to receive child support. 

For all of your child support questions, give Dreyer Law a call to schedule a free consultation.  

In most divorces, there is at least one dispute that is difficult to resolve before the marriage can be legally over. In some divorces, the most difficult disagreements can be found in emotionally charged matters such as child custody. In other situations, the most disputed conflicts are over how to distribute marital assets such as an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), real estate, pension, stock holdings, savings and more. 

We read recently of a doctor who made a costly IRA mistake in his divorce. He found himself in Tax Court earlier this year after he failed to pay taxes on $140,000 in IRA withdrawals transferred to his former wife. 

The court made it clear to the doctor that there are only two ways to make tax-free IRA asset transfers in divorces. One way is to change the name on the IRA to the former spouse’s name. The second way is to directly transfer the IRA’s assets to an IRA the former spouse owns. 

Here is what you cannot do – take an IRA distribution and transfer those funds to the former spouse’s checking account, which is what the doctor did. 

A financial planning service says that the doctor’s mistake is a reminder that after a divorce, an adviser should be brought in to help transfer IRA funds in a way that complies with divorce terms. The divorce decree should be specific on how assets are to be divided – and because IRA values can fluctuate, it’s important to have the date of the IRA division clearly stated in the decree. 

Also, it is important for the decree to state who is responsible for paying any related fees. 

In order to ensure that terms of your divorce are favorable and clear, speak with an attorney experienced in divorces. Give Dreyer Law a call today for a free consultation. Dreyer law can also help set you up with the proper financial planner to help you with all your IRA needs.  

As many Georgia high school seniors start receiving their college acceptance letters this time of year, their parents are left to figure out how to fund their educational needs. When parents are divorced or are starting down the path toward divorce, this issue can become trickier. 

As explained by Forbes, child support awards do not typically include requirements to pay for college. However, separate provisions can be developed and added to a divorce decree. Exactly what these provisions may state can vary from family to family. Some people may find it beneficial to establish trust or escrow accounts into which money can be added over the course of time. Other people may prefer that lump sums are given up front toward a future education. Some of these details may be impacted by the age of the child or children at the time of the divorce.  

It is also important to determine how parents will pay for college and the exact obligation of each parent. Tuition is far from the only cost incurred. Room, board, books, and basic living allowances will also be needed. One parent may be willing to pay tuition while the other parent may agree to pay the rest. Other parents might opt to split everything. 

When it comes time to file for financial aid, the government does not consider custodial parents in the same way that the courts might. According to Nerd Wallet, even in a joint custody situation, only one parent will be deemed the custodial parent. That is the person with whom the child lived the greatest number of days in the prior year. It is that parent’s financial information that needs to be reported on federal financial aid forms. 

Always talk to your divorce attorney about creating a tuition plan. Doug Dreyer has the knowledge to help you make sure your children will have the funds to complete college. Call Dreyer Law today to set up a free consultation.  

It is that time for Georgia residents to start thinking about their tax returns. If you are one of the people in Georgia who got divorced last year, preparing and filing your 2018 tax return will be different than in prior years. You will likely have new questions and things to think about when filing your return. In addition to collecting your income information, you may need to understand how your child support payments might impact your taxes.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, your taxes will be completed unaffected by child support. This is the case whether you are the parent who is ordered to make child support payments or whether you are the parents who is to receive child support payments.

During your divorce, you and your former spouse would have had to negotiate custody of your children. The IRS considers the parent with whom the children spent the most time in the calendar year to be the custodial parent. This person is then allowed to claim the children as dependents on a tax return. A special form may be filed with the IRS that relinquishes the right of the custodial parent to claim the child deduction and transfers that right to the non-custodial parent.

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give Georgia residents an overview of how a divorce may change tax filings. For all divorce questions, please contact Dreyer Law for a free consultation.

Like most business owners, your business represents your life. It is one of the most important aspects of your life and you will do anything to protect it against attacks and challenges. However, most entrepreneurs do not protect their businesses against the potentiality of divorce. Dissolution of marriage is one of the most dangerous enemies of owning your own business. Many divorces end with businesses being liquidated or the ownership handed to the spouse.

There are two important ways to protect your business during a divorce.

• A prenuptial agreement: It is always best to handle the details and add the proper protections for your business during a divorce long before a divorce is even a consideration. Before your wedding, a prenuptial agreement is a great way to make sure your business is not divided during a divorce.

• A buyout agreement: One of the most powerful tools to protect your business is a pre-emptive buyout agreement that triggers an automatic buyout in the event of a divorce.

There are also options to dissolve, divide, or share business ownership after your divorce. However, such methods do not work for a couple that has divorced and business owners who do not want to lose control or ownership of a successful enterprise.

If you want to keep your business and protect your ownership, the most important thing to do is to plan ahead. Give Dreyer Law a call to discuss drawing up the proper documents and agreements as early in the relationship as possible.

When a baby is born, there is almost never a debate as to who is the child’s mother. However, it can be more difficult to determine who is the child’s biological father.

When a couple is married, the woman’s husband is presumed to be the baby’s father, but in some cases DNA testing is necessary to determine paternity. Establishing paternity is important because it gives the father rights to see and know their child. Before paternity and legitimation is established, the mother has control over child custody issues.

When married parents decide to divorce, there is often a battle over who should be the children’s primary caregiver. In these situations, fathers may feel like they have fewer rights or that the law favors giving custody to women. While this used to be true, laws in Georgia and around the country have changed in recent years.
Most experts agree that fathers play an important role in the lives of their children. Therefore, laws have shifted from being woman-focused to focusing on the best interest of the child. Under these current laws, fathers are given equal rights to the children and courts understand that it is important for both parents to have a relationship with a child.

Georgia men should understand that it is important for them to fight for their rights when it comes to their children. The family law courts are available to help these people with child custody, child support, and other family law issues.

If you are thinking about divorce and worried about the well-being of your children, contact Dreyer Law for a free consultation. We put the children first and want what is in their best interest.

Adoption is one of the most rewarding experiences for a couple who have not been able to conceive themselves. At the same time, it could be one of the most challenging things you have ever done. You are probably wondering what is so challenging about adoption. The simple answer is that the adoption process can sometimes prove to be lengthy and significantly complex.

Below are a few questions and answers that Family Law Attorneys are asked frequently.

Is there more than one type of adoption in Georgia?

Georgia legally recognizes six different types of adoptions, including:

• Stepparent adoption
• Relative adoption
• Private agency and public adoptions
• Third party adoptions
• Foreign adoptions
• Adult adoptions

Are there any basic eligibility requirements that I must satisfy in order to adopt?

A person or couple must satisfy the following conditions in order to adopt a child in any capacity here in Georgia:

• One must be a minimum of 25 years old unless they are married and reside with their spouse.
• One must adopt with their spouse if married (unless they are a stepparent to the child to be adopted).
• One must be a minimum of ten years older than a child to be adopted.
• One must have lived in Georgia for a minimum of six months.
• One must have a physical and mental capacity, as well as the necessary resources, to care for the child to be adopted.

Please contact Dreyer Law and speak with a skilled legal professional if you have any questions about adoption. Dreyer Law offers free consultations for anyone ready to start the adoption process.

Myths are everywhere, not just in divorce and legal matters. An example of a myth is the Great Wall of China being the only human-made structure visible from outer space.

In regards to divorce and money, two of the more commonly believed myths include the myth of not being responsible for your spouse’s credit card debt and the myth of women never paying spousal support. In regards to the spousal credit card myth, if the cards are in both of your names, you are both responsible for the debt, and in regards to women never paying spousal support, courts often order women who make more money than their husbands to pay alimony.

The following myths need to be disregarded when entering into the divorce process.

If your spouse doesn’t know about all of your assets, you won’t have to share them during the divorce. Not only is it unethical to hide assets, but it is against the law. You will be facing harsh court sanctions when hiding assets.

Another popular divorce myth is if your spouse does not pay child support, he or she does not have to be allowed visitation with your children. A parent’s right to visitation is independent to child support payments. If a parent fails to pay mandated child support, there are enforcement steps that the custodial parent can take. Parents being denied visitation can discuss their options with a family law attorney and petition the court to issue a contempt order.

The best approach is to discuss your priorities with a trusted family law attorney. Allow Dreyer Law to protect your family and your interests each step of the legal divorce process.

Asking for a divorce or being asked for a divorce can be extremely scary for many people. A lot of people have a fear of going to court during divorce and it can cause a lot of people anxiety and stress. Not every divorce case has to go to court. There is always the option of mediation.

Mediation is a simple process that involves both divorcing parties meeting together to resolve any divorce issues, including division of assets, child support, custody, and other related issues. Each spouse will bring his/her own attorney to the sessions to protect their interests. A mediation session is generally required before proceeding to divorce litigation. Mediation offers the opportunity for a better process and a better outcome for everyone.

For most people, mediation is a better process compared with traditional divorce litigation. The mediation process is a more private matter. Strangers are not allowed to sit in on the sessions, and it helps protect the children from the hard reality of seeing their parents in a court setting. Mediation is often a much faster, smoother, and less stressful event. Divorce always has an element of stress, but with mediation these realities are greatly reduced in most cases.

Mediation doesn’t work for every case, however, the process works for most people, and when it does, it offers significant advantages over the traditional courtroom divorce process.

Contact Dreyer Law to schedule a free consultation. Together you and Doug Dreyer can decide if your case is better suited for mediation or a traditional courtroom process.