B.J. Abbott's blog

Some Georgia couples enter into prenuptial agreements before they get married in order to protect themselves in the event of a divorce. While many younger people who have few assets when they get married often decide a prenuptial agreement isn’t worth the expense or don’t want to discuss it with their future spouses, people getting married for the second time often do decide it’s a good idea.

Many same-sex couples living in Georgia were delighted when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2015 that same-sex marriages were legal across the country. However, the expanding definition of marriage under state and federal law has led to unforeseen ramifications in family courts.

Happily married couples in Georgia may not expect divorce to happen to them, but financial experts say it could still be a good idea to be prepared for the possibility of marriage ending, just in case. Preparing for a divorce that is not expected could be viewed in the same light as preparing for other unexpected events such as house fires, accidents or job losses.

Some divorces in Georgia involve court-ordered alimony that is paid monthly or in a lump sum. While some people view alimony as unfair to the paying spouse, others see that alimony can be necessary when one spouse earns far less income than the other spouse.

A type of infidelity is tearing American marriages apart, but it may not be a kind of cheating Georgia readers are familiar with. It’s known as financial infidelity, and studies have found that it is creeping into many U.S. marriages.

Although divorce rates are dropping in most age groups, that isn’t the case for those over the age of 50. In 2014, the divorce rate among couples over the age of 50 was double what it was in 1990, according to research from Bowling Green University. Some believe that this is because most people over the age of 50 are in their second marriages.

When Georgia entrepreneurs have successful businesses and also want to divorce, they sometimes stay in their marriages due to a fear of losing the businesses. There are steps people can take to protect their companies from being divided in the divorce process.

Many Georgia couples are not aware of their options when they decide to end their marriage. Mediation is one method that may help divorcing spouses avoid courtroom litigation. It is a confidential dispute resolution process in which a neutral and trained third party attempts to facilitate communication between the spouses with the goal of reaching an agreement.

Family court judges in Georgia consider many details when settling disputes between parents about child support, custody and visitation. When the father is a rapist or alleged rapist, however, the issues become even more challenging, and laws often lack guidance about parental rights for children conceived by rape.

Going through a divorce in Georgia is usually not a simple process. For most divorcing spouses, sorting out child custody and property division issues is not possible without representation from a family law attorney. However, there are some people who decide to represent themselves during a divorce.