Lisa and Chris have a one-year-old daughter together. Lisa and Chris have lived in Minnesota since before their daughter was born. Lisa recently split from Chris and has since been not allowing Chris to see his daughter. Chris has filed a Petition in his county's Superior Court in Minnesota to establish paternity and visitation rights to his daughter. Instead of responding to the Petition, Lisa packs up their daughter and absconds to Georgia. Chris is heartbroken and racked with emotion at the sudden absence of his daughter. What does he do now?
Every Tom, Dick and Harry
Sally was sitting at home. Actually, Sally was stewing at home. She kind of felt that way a lot these days. Fred had gotten on her last nerve before the Coronavirus and being locked in the house with him for two months was finally more than she could stand. He had to go. Or she had to go. Or somebody had to go. That's all she knew. Somebody had to go!
Virtual Litigation
COVID-19 has thrust the Georgia judicial system into the age of technology. The courts and their staff as well as attorneys across the state have spent the last three months mobilizing in order to accommodate the new paradigm composed of social distancing and remote working. The Manely Firm, P.C. understands firsthand the shift between working in office to working from home.
To Half or Half Not: Prenuptial Agreements in the Social Media Era
It is a long standing belief that when you divorce, your spouse gets one-half of everything. For that reason, many people enter into marital contracts to protect themselves. Marital contracts, prenuptial agreements, are agreements made between couples before they marry concerning the ownership of each parties' respective assets should the marriage not succeed. Prenuptial agreements, prenups for short, have been around for thousands of years. Some sources say that prenups date all the way back to ancient Egypt.
Planning for the Future
"Nothing we do can change the past, but everything we do changes the future." __ Ashleigh Brilliant
Best Interest of the Pet?
Pets are family. This is the general consensus among pet parents and when asked, a firm assertion without hesitation confirming the same is expected. Our furry friends provide us comfort when we need it most, entertainment when we're desperate for a laugh and unconditional love and support, much like our human family members. Some pet lovers who do not have children often regard their four-legged companions as their children and treat them accordingly. Considering the above, it should not come as a shock that when couples initiate divorce actions, some of the more contested disputes involve the custody of the family pets.
Limiting conflict through parallel parenting
Your divorce isn't the amicable one you wanted or that celebrities, friends, families and even acquaintances tell you it should be. Instead, you and your future former spouse would probably have no problem never seeing each other again.
The problem is that you share children that both of you love. The one thing you can agree on is that your children need each of you in their lives, so you have to figure something out.
Kemp's Latest Executive Order - April 20 - Explained. The Throw Caution to the Wind Version
Governor Kemp issued another Executive Order yesterday, April 20. I reviewed the First Order of April 2 and the Family Law Version of April 3 in my previous posts. This newest one and the messaging from the Governor's office coming off of it, are chock full of interesting, must know elements. I'm going to try to share the highlights with you.
New Questions in Family Law Related to COVID 19
I hope you all are doing well, dear readers. Governor Kemp's announcement that shelter in place will be extended in Georgia until the end of April has been difficult for the majority of the people. The quarantine in Georgia so far is not as effective as we hoped. The number of people that have been diagnosed with coronavirus and tested positive is still growing exponentially, and death toll in Georgia is still terrifying. As Governor Kemp admitted today, radically re-opening Georgia won't help those numbers.
Talking to Your Children About Divorce
A child lays in bed thinking what caused the demise of their parents' marriage. They think about the times where things felt normal. As they grow older, many things trigger their memories of the past. Instead of having soothing reflections of childhood memories the truth becomes unraveled and lies and deceit flood their mind. Their mother and father made promises of things that were uncertain: "things will not change much for you" or "things will become better than they were before." That child, now maturing into a young adolescent, begins to resent their parents, who could not hold their promises.
