Suwanee Family Lawyer

Family law encompasses a broad range of legal practice areas, including adoption, divorce, child custody and support, and emancipation. In all these areas, the applicable laws and regulations are complex, and the emotional side of dealing with family issues can make such cases overwhelming.

Fortunately, a Suwanee family lawyer can provide you with knowledge and support to help you make critical decisions about what is best for you and your family. A skilled attorney at our firm can also help you with court petitions, property agreements, adoption documents, divorce cases, and family court proceedings and negotiations. Call today to learn about the ways our team can assist you.

Helping You Meet Your Goals in Divorce

Getting a divorce requires spouses to resolve multiple issues to untangle their legal and financial relationship. Between asset division, alimony, and child-related concerns, divorces are rarely easy. While “uncontested” divorces may take only 30 days to finalize, “contested” divorces can take many months of hearings and trials.

Avoiding a trial is desirable because it keeps the final decisions in the hands of the couple. A Suwanee family law attorney can help you draft settlement plans to avoid trial, calculate spousal and child support, divide marital property, and plan for child custody and visitation.

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid a divorce trial. Some personality types cannot put their feelings aside to negotiate a fair settlement. Our team is not afraid to represent spouses in high-conflict divorces. When necessary, we will take a divorce to trial and fight to meet your goals.

Paternity and Legitimation

Unmarried fathers may have particular difficulty establishing paternity and receiving the same rights as mothers. Some fathers are surprised to learn that even when they formally acknowledge paternity, their name is on the child’s birth certificate, and they pay child support, they have no legal parental rights.

An unwed father seeking full parental rights, including the right to custody and visitation, must legitimate their child. A Suwanee family attorney could help fathers establish legitimacy and walk them through complex paternity laws.

Child Custody

Regardless of whether the parents were ever married, when they decide to live apart, they must obtain a child custody order from the Georgia family court. Courts require parents to submit a detailed parenting plan. Family lawyers can help parents with legal and physical child custody issues, including negotiating an acceptable parenting plan with their co-parent or developing an individual plan if the parents disagree about custody.

Child custody is ultimately determined by a judge based on the children’s best interests. The law does not favor either parent in these decisions—mothers do not have an inherent advantage. Parents can share custody when they can demonstrate that a shared custody arrangement is best for the children. Georgia law states that children 14 and older can choose which parent they want to live with, but a judge does not have to adhere to their decision if it jeopardizes the best interest of the child.

Sometimes a parent wants to limit a child’s contact with the other parent due to concerns about the parent’s ability to provide a safe environment. When a parent has proof that their co-parent poses a threat to the children’s physical or emotional well-being, a Suwanee family attorney can request that another responsible adult supervise the co-parent’s time with the children.

Further, family law courts in Suwanee use the income share model to make child support decisions, which means that children are entitled to the same amount of both parents’ incomes that they received prior to the divorce. A family lawyer in Suwanee can help determine this amount, as well as potential child support modifications that could occur in the future.

Calculating Appropriate Child Support

Every child is entitled to the financial support of both their parents. Family law courts in use the income share model to make child support decisions, which means that children are entitled to the same amount of both parents’ incomes that they received prior to the divorce.

The state publishes child support guidelines which base the presumptive payment amount on the combined net income of both parents. Once the couple has determined the presumptive amount, there are mandatory and non-mandatory deviations that could change the payment.

The calculations can get complicated. A family lawyer in Suwanee can help determine the amount of child support and counsel a parent about whether to petition the court for a deviation.

Motions to Modify or Enforce Court Orders

A court issues orders based on the circumstances that exist at the time. As life moves forward orders that were workable or made sense at the time may need to be altered. Property division orders in a divorce are not modifiable absent evidence of fraud. Court orders regarding child custody, child support, and spousal support are modifiable.

Courts will revisit their orders whenever you can prove that there has been a substantial change in circumstances that requires a modification. The party requesting the modification must prove that there has been a substantial change. Events that can merit modification of a court’s order include the birth of a child, a serious health condition, involuntary job loss, or an event like losing a home to fire or flood.

Sometimes a spouse does not meet their obligations under an existing court order. A Suwanee attorney can bring a contempt motion asking the family court to force the party to comply. When someone is found to be in contempt for non-compliance with a court order, they face harsh financial consequences and even jail.

Mediation Laws in Suwanee

Suwanee courts utilize Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programs to encourage parties to resolve their differences on their own. ADR is appropriate for child custody issues, property division disputes, and conflicts between parents and children, including emancipation issues. It may not be advisable when the parties have a history of domestic violence.

One of the options that the ADR provides is mediation, which is a negotiation process involving both spouses meeting with a mediator to work out issues such as property ownership, alimony, and child support/custody.

In divorce cases, if all issues are resolved, the parties can file an uncontested divorce, which is quicker than a contested divorce. Since mediation would happen before individuals go to court, the divorce process could be expedited and lead to mutually agreed-upon solutions. Even couples involved in a contested divorce often use mediation during the proceedings to achieve a settlement and avoid the need for a trial. Work with a Suwanee family attorney to determine the best approach for your situation.

Contact a Suwanee Family Attorney Today

Whether your family relationship is being united or broken, a Suwanee family lawyer can help you navigate the respective legal processes. A compassionate attorney on our team can handle sensitive issues on your behalf and help you protect your family’s rights, so call today to get started.