In recent years, Georgia law has evolved, and there is no longer the presumption that a mother should be entitled to child custody with the father obligated to pay child support. As American social customs, roles, and responsibilties have changed, so has GA Family Law, and it is now the case that, at least theoretically, a husband and wife have equally chance of gaining primary custody of a child. Simulateneously, it is also the case that either parent can also be responsible for paying child support.
Interestingly, child support and child custody do not go hand in hand. For instance, I am oftened requested to tackle issues where a parent finds it unfair that they are obliged to pay child support but are not entitled to any form of custody, or even visitation. If this is the case, and when a parent does want custody or visitation rights, a legitmation hearing must be held in which the non-custodial parent who is paying child support may request child custody.
On the other side of the coin, again since GA Child Support and GA Child Custody do not go hand in hand, we are also called upon by clients who find it unfair that the parent of a child who is not living up to their child support obligations is still allowed custody or visitation rights. In this case, we can actively pursue remedies to force the non-paying parent to live up to their child support obligations and may choose to simultaneously pursue additional remedies to amend or terminate child custody arragements, but a GA judge may take no action on a child custody issue while simultaneously taking strong action with regard to child support. This seemingly unfair disconnect arises from the idea that a child is better off having a relationship with both parents, even if one of the parents is a deadbeat dad (or, mom).
Getting Started
The above information is meant as a brief summary of certain aspects of Georgia child support law. If you are dealing with a divorce or child support situation, we recommend you contact our attorneys sooner rather than later. We are proud to say that our attorneys are among the most knowledgeable and experienced in the state. Click here to see our Credentials and Client Reviews. Please note that for a typical family law proceeding, our law firm retainer begins at $2,500.00. To set up a consultation with one of our attorneys, please give us a call at (404) 239-3932, or visit our Divorce Attorney Homepage to fill out our contact information form. Thank you and we look forward to working with you.
With the holiday season coming up, Thanksgiving rapidly approaching and the holidays of various faith traditions celebrated in December, it’s important to have child custody arrangements set in place. Working these details out with an experienced Atlanta divorce lawyer can avoid a great deal of stress and confusion, especially during the busyness of the holidays. Our attorneys will help you determine a Georgia child custody schedule that will be amenable to both you and your former spouse.
