Blawg of Attorney Christine M Bechtold

Dealing with your ex-spouse about visitation with your child can be especially difficult during the holidays. It is important to communicate with your ex about the plan for visitation in advance. The sooner you communicate and work out a schedule, the better. In most cases, you will have a Parenting Plan or Visitation Agreement regarding visitation with your child. This Plan will include a schedule for how to manage visitation for the holidays. If you do not have this schedule already written, or if either of you want to change it, you will both need to work out a new plan. It is important to be clear about where your child will be during the holidays and who is responsible for transporting your child to and from the visitation.     If your child is age appropriate, you should also make the schedule clear to your child well in advance. Communication is the key to a smooth holiday visitation.

On this day in 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed. Enjoy Constitution day by reading it here:  http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

No. The difference between legal separation and divorce often comes up in family law, and the difference is quite simple. In a legal separation the parties are still married.   "A divorce ends your marriage. After you get divorced, you will be single, and you can marry again.”   www.georgiacourts.org The Georgia Courts do allow for a type of action similar to legal separation called separate maintenance. "A party who wishes to live apart permanently, but who does not want to get a divorce, may file a separate maintenance action. The spouses will remain legally married although living apart." www.gabar.org You do not need a separate maintenance action to move forward with a divorce in Georgia. Some people chose a separate maintenance action due to religious, emotional, or financial reasons.  The legal process for a separate maintenance and an uncontested divorce in Georgia is very similar, so unless both people feel strongly about the separate maintena...

Independence Day is one of the most important federal holidays in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence , which declared our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. “What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in ‘self-evident truths’ and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.” www.archives.gov In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson describes why the Declaration is necessary:  " The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” Declaration of Independence " He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, ...

The new Georgia Juvenile Justice Code House Bill 242 passed the Senate unanimously on March 21, 2013. GA HB 242. The Bill, which is expected to become effective on January 1, 2014, “incorporates many of the recommendations by the governor’s criminal justice reform council related to the juvenile justice system.” atlawblog 3/21/2013. The Bill is intended to emphasize community resources for lower-risk juvenile offenders. It “is designed to send fewer juveniles to state facilities for committing felonies and to divert kids who are not dangerous — especially so-called status offenders such as truants, runaways and the unruly — into less expensive community-based programs.”  AJC 3/21/2013.

People often ask “who will hear my case?” In Georgia, the answer depends on where you and/or the defendant lives and what your case is about, however many cases are heard by the Superior Court. There are 10 Judicial Districts in Georgia which includes 49 Superior Court Judicial Circuits. http://www.georgiacourts.gov/aoc/selfhelp/gacourts_guide.pdf . Every county in Georgia has its own Superior Court, but it may be attached to another Judicial Circuit. For example, the Gwinnett Superior Court Circuit just includes Gwinnett County while the Alcovy Superior Court Circuit includes both Newton and Walton Counties. Your Superior Court is based on the County you live in. The Superior Court has general jurisdiction, which means the Superior Court can rule on any criminal or civil action which is not already designated to be heard by another Court, such as traffic, misdemeanors, bankruptcy, immigration, or probate. Georgia Superior Courts hear a large variety of cases including fel...