It is not unusual in the course of a divorce case for a court to order (or the parties to agree) that the marital home will be sold.  In better economic times, when homes were constantly being bought and sold, the quick sale of the home was rarely an issue.  Today, times are much different, and homes languish on the market for months or years without so much as an offer.  When a house doesn’t sell after the divorce, options can be limited.  Unless the language of the parties’ agreement or the final order conditions the sale on market conditions, a down real estate market will not excuse a parties’ failure to sell a marital home when that sale is mandated by a court order or a divorce agreement.

In a recent decision, the GA Supreme Court reversed a trial court’s order where the trial court had refused to enforce a sale deadline due to market conditions.  In Greenwood v. Greenwood, the ex-wife moved to have her ex-husband held in contempt for failing to refinance or sell the former marital residence by a specific deadline.  The trial court held the husband in contempt, but it refused to enforce the sale provision due to “current market conditions.”  The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court had improperly modified the divorce decree by implying a “reasonable period of time, given the market conditions right now,” to sell the home, where the decree contained a specific deadline for the house to be sold.  The Supreme Court also held that the trial court improperly modified the divorce decree by refusing to enforce a liquidated damages provision requiring the husband to pay $10,000 to his ex-wife for failing to refinance the mortgage on the home.

This case highlights an issue that must be considered in the current real estate market.  Persons contemplating a divorce where a marital home is involved should consult with an attorney prior to entering into any agreement requiring the refinance or sale of a home.  The days of easy sales and quick refinancing are now gone, and it is important to have an experienced attorney’s advice in these matters.  Our attorney’s can advise and assist you with your case.  We are experienced in these issues, and we stand ready to help.  Please call our office to discuss your case.  We are here to help.

The US Supreme Court recently heard arguments in the case of Turner v. Rogers.  A question before the court was whether a person who is faced with a child support contempt action is entitled to appointed counsel under the Sixth Amendment.  The reports are that the Justices appeared to be wary of extending the right to counsel under that amendment to civil contempts, even when a party faces possible jail time for non payment of child support.  There currently is pending a similar suit in Georgia, demanding that indigent parties be appointed counsel in child support contempt cases.

This case bears watching, as its outcome will generally impact non-custodial fathers who may not have the funds to hire an attorney.  However, it is always important to have counsel in a contempt case, even if the parties hire them on their own.  If you are faced with a contempt, call our office for assistance.  You may think you can’t afford it, but you also probably can’t afford to go to jail either.  An attorney can make all the difference in the world.  Call our office for help.

GA appellate courts have long held that trial courts have no authority to impose income tax liability, order an allocation of liabililty between the parties, or make awards of child dependency exemptions.  A recent cases in this area is Symms v. Symms, where the Supreme Court reversed a trial court’s final divorce judgment allocating specific income tax liabilities based upon scant and unreliable evidence of incomes, penalties and interest.

Always consult an attorney when you have questions about a divorce.  Our firm’s attorneys can assist you and answer questions.  Call our office for a consultation.

A recent GA Supreme Court case discussed the interplay of child support payments continuuing while a child is in high school past the age of 18 years.  In Draughn v. Draughn, the court reversed a trial court’s ruling that an eighteen year old was not in school.  The child was over 18 but had not yet completed high school.  He was enrolled in a virtual, on-line education program through his private high school that would allow him to obtain his HS diploma.  The trial court ruled that the on-line program did not qualify as full-time high school enrollment, but the Supreme Court reversed and held that it did constitute full-time high school enrollment.  The court also held that a child need not be enrolled during summer months to still qualify for support after age 18.

The GA Supreme Court recently reversed a trial court’s child support award where the trial court had awarded 25% of the non-custodial parent’s income over his base salary as additional child support.  The trial court included no findings of fact or other written special findings to support what the Supreme Court considered to be a deviation from the child support guidelines.  The case was Stowell v. Huguenard, and the trial court judge was Karen Beyers from Gwinnett County Superior Court.

If you have a child support question or issue, our experienced family law attorneys can help.  Please call our office for a consultation.

Paternity issues often arise when parents are unmarried or if a wife/mother gets pregnant by someone other than her husband.  Fathers who are named as defendants in paternity actions should always request a DNA paternity test, even if they “believe” that the child is their’s.  A recent GA Court of Appeals case exemplifies the danger of proceeding–one, without an attorney–and, two, without a DNA test.  In Venable v. Parker, a father who had been sued in a paternity action in Cobb County Superior Court acknowledged paternity based upon the mother’s representations that he was the father.  After the court entered an order declaring him the father, the father moved to set the order aside based on the mother’s fraud.  The trial court denied the motion but ordered paternity testing.  The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the issue of the father’s paternity was “res judicata”–meaning that the issue was final, and the court had no basis to order a paternity test.

Had the father in this case been represented, he could have avoided the ultimate result in this case.  He may be paying child support for a child that is not his.  If you are faced with a paternity action, it is absolutely essential that you retain competent and experienced counsel to represent you.  Our firm can help.   Please call for a consultation.

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A recent GA Court of Appeals decision has held that grandparents of children who are adopted and whose parental relationship with the grandparents’ child is terminated may not seek visitation rights under OCGA 19-7-3.  In Bailey v. Kunz, the trial court refused to dismiss a maternal grandparents’ action for visitation rights where the child’s biological father had surrendered his parental rights to the child and the mother’s husband (i.e., the stepfather) adopted the child.  The biological father’s parents subsequently sought visitation rights with the minor child, and the trial court refused to grant the mother and adoptive father’s motion to dismiss the petition.  The Court of Appeals relied upon 19-7-3(b), which stated that an action for grandparent visitation was prohibited if the parents were living together and the child was living with them.  The central issue was how this applied to adoptive parents.  The court held that this provision applied to both biological and adoptive parents.  Since the parents in the case at bar were married and living together with the child, the former paternal grandparents could not pursue visitation rights.

This is a complicated area of the law, one where the advice of an experienced attorney will be essential to a successful outcome.  Don’t try to go it alone–call our firm’s attorneys for assistance.

A frequent question in Georgia divorces and separate maintenance actions is how much alimony will be received or paid.  Unlike child support awards, which are subject to express guidelines, there are no specific alimony guidelines under Georgia law.  The alimony statute, O.C.G.A. 19-6-4, only provides that alimony is to be awarded to either spouse in accordance with the needs of the spouse and the ability of the other spouse to pay.  The paying spouse’s entire “estate”, including separate property, may be considered in determining an alimony award.  The amount of the award and the length of the payment term is wholly within the discretion of the court or jury.  Alimony may be temporary or permanent, periodic or lump sum.

Generally speaking, the days of permanent life-time alimony are long gone.  Most courts today are awarding alimony for much shorter periods, perhaps five years or so, and its purpose is usually considered to be rehabilitative, i.e., to allow a dependent spouse the necessary time to acquire job skills and rebuild an income-earning ability.  However, each case is very fact-dependent, and an experienced attorney’s assistance can be invaluable in evaluating and presenting an alimony claim.  Our firm is experienced in divorce and domestic relations law.  Please call our office for a consultation.  The ultimate price for proceeding alone will be much higher than the cost of hiring an attorney to advise you in your case.