It would be wonderful if the Division of Child Support Services was efficient enough that they were able to stop every child support order when the child turned 18 and graduated from high school. But unfortunately, they do not automatically dismiss your order. Therefore, if you have a garnishment... View More

Guardianship paperwork that has not been made an order through the court is not enforceable. So yes, the parent can come and retrieve the children because you don't have a court order, even if the paperwork is notarized. You need an order giving you guardianship. And you have to go through... View More

Schools will typically want a court order in order to allow you to enroll the child. A physician will likely want an order in order to let you make medical decisions for the child or schedule an appointment. You will need guardianship papers that have been filed and signed off on by a judge.... View More

If you have an attorney you should speak to your attorney about any changes the opposing attorney has attempted to make after mediation ended. If you are representing yourself you could file to enforce the mediated agreement. But there is not a form for that. If a final order was drafted by... View More

I would speak directly with an attorney. Grandparents do have rights. But there is a very specific statute that sets forth the requirements to qualify for grandparents rights. If you meet the requirements under Actions by Grandparents or Other Family Members, I would consult an attorney to file... View More

Child support is always owed as long as you have a court order in place saying you have to pay per month. If she closed the case before the court signed an order, then when she does get an order, the court will not award her retroactive child support if it’s a GA court. Support will start from... View More

You should speak to the child support office where you opened the case and ask them any questions you have regarding how they plan to move forward. And I would also say, it's difficult for child support enforcement to properly handle cases where the non-custodial parent is not a W-2 employee.... View More

Whether or not your spouse or ex-spouse has to send you copies of documents depends on what documents they are. It is unclear what documents you are asking for because you stated they were "separation papers." If you mean a complaint for divorce then yes, you should have been served... View More

Speak to a lawyer. Because you refer to the other party as your ex-husband, and if the divorce is final, they likely don’t have to give you a copy of any paperwork. If the divorce is still pending, you are entitled to certain documents to be turned over to you if you request them. But you need... View More

If you have denied him visitation that he was awarded through a court order, then you may be found in contempt. You telling him to take you to court may look to a judge like you were revoking his visitation. Therefore, if he has filed a contempt action or any action against you, I would speak... View More

Unless there was a court order saying the parent couldn’t move, they can relocate. Now what orders normally say is that they need to give the other parent proper notice of their intent to move, and there’s usually a certain period of time listed regarding how much notice like 30 days. So if... View More

First there are no mandatory visitation rights. Any visitation the non-custodial parent was given, the court saw fit to award that to them, but it wasn't mandatory that said parent receive a certain amount of visitation. Second, if you want to change the order, you have to file for a... View More

Unfortunately we cannot write out your argument for a temporary hearing in this forum. It is best that you hire an attorney to represent you because they would have likely filed this motion months ago or tried to come to an agreement with the opposing party on your behalf. If you cannot hire an... View More

You wrote in to ask lawyers what you can do because you can’t afford a lawyer, and really the best advice is to get a lawyer to assist you. We don’t know the circumstances within which you ended up with the visitation you have. Nor do we know what has changed since then or if it has been 2... View More

Georgia is a no fault divorce state, so it may not matter a whole lot of there was adultery. It’s unlikely to be a factor regarding custody and visitation as it’s not directly related to her parenting. But could be a factor in spousal support and possibly an equitable distribution of marital... View More

Typically the party who is the final decision-maker if the parents cannot agree, is the party who has primary physical custody. It is not typical for the parent who doesn’t have primary physical custody to have sole legal custody or to be the final decision-maker if the parties have joint legal... View More

An Answer is a response to the complaint within which you have been served. In your Answer you should admit or deny the allegations made by the Plaintiff. You can also state any objections you may have to the relief the Plaintiff is seeking. That relief in a legitimation action is typically... View More

When you respond to any case as a defendant you do that by filing an Answer. But there are no standard forms to answer an action to legitimize that will likely have the specific objections you are trying to make. That is something an attorney should draft, and it is best for your case if you hire... View More

If you are served with an action to legitimize and you are the defendant, you have thirty days to provide a response to the petition. In that response you can list all of the reasons why you are contesting the legitimation and why you do not think the petitioner should be granted any of the relief... View More

If you want to modify the visitation or change custody, you have to file for a modification in GA, since the father still lives in GA. Is it worth you going back to court just because he doesn't exercise the visitation he has? The state of GA retains jurisdiction over all family law matters... View More