Atlanta Divorce Attorney Blog

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar in Georgia if the parties have children under the age of 18. See Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8. Cobb County (Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Marietta, Powder Springs and Smyrna) offers its Divorcing Parents Seminar at the Cobb County Superior Court Building (Building D; 6th floor jury assembly room), 30 Waddell Street, Marietta, GA 30090.

Cobb County offers a four-hour Thursday morning seminar or two two-hour Monday evening sessions. You must take either one Thursday morning seminar or two Monday evening seminars. The 2011 schedule is as follows:

Thursday morning classes (8:30am – 1:00pm): February 3, February 17, March 3, March 17, April 7, April 21, May 5, May 19, June 2, June 16, July 7, July 21, August 4, August 18, September 1, September 15, October 6, October 20, November 3, November 17, December 1, December 15

Monday evening classes (7:00pm – 9:00pm): February 7 AND February 21, March 14 AND March 21, April 11 AND April 18, May 9 AND May 16, June 13 AND June 20, July 11 AND July 18, August 8 AND August 15, September 12 AND September 19, October 10 AND October 17, November 14 AND November 21, December 12 AND December 19

The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person. You can find additional information and register online for these seminars at the Cobb County Divorcing Parents Seminar website.

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar in Georgia if the parties have children under the age of 18. See Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8. Forsyth County (Cumming) and Cherokee County (Ball Ground, Canton, and Woodstock) are part of the 9th judicial district. The January – March 2011 parenting seminar schedule for the 9th judicial district is as follows:

• Gainesville (New Hall County Courthouse, 225 Green Street SE) – Thursday, February 3, 5:00pm – 9:00pm; Thursday, February 17, 5:00pm – 9:00pm; Thursday, March 3, 5:00pm – 9:00pm; Thursday, March 17, 5:00pm – 9:00pm; Thursday, March 31, 5:00pm – 9:00pm
• Dahlonega (North Georgia College and State University, Continuing Education Bldg., Highway 60) – Tuesday February 22, 9:00am – 1:00pm; Monday, March 28, 9:00am – 1:00pm
• Blairsville (Haralson Civic Center, 165 Welborn Street) – Monday, February 7, 1:00pm – 5:00pm; Monday, March 7, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
• Clarkesville (North GA Technical College, 1500 Hwy. 197 North) – Wednesday, February 9, 1:00pm – 5:00pm; Wednesday, March 9, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
• Woodstock (Woodstock Public Library, 7735 Main Street) – Saturday, January 29, 10:00am – 2:00pm; Saturday, February 26, 10:0am – 2:00pm; Saturday, March 12, 10:00am – 2:00pm
• Ellijay (Gilmer County Library, 268 Calvin Jackson Drive) – Monday, February 28, 1:00pm – 5:00pm; Monday, March 21, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
• Cumming (First Baptist Church Cumming, Kids Town Building, 1597 Sawnee Drive) – Saturday, September 25, 10:00am – 2:00pm
• Dawsonville (Dawson County Library, 342 Allen Street) – Saturday, February 12, 10:30am – 2:30pm; Saturday, March 19, 10:30am – 2:30pm

The cost of the seminar is currently $50.00 per person. There is no pre-registration. You can find additional information about these seminars at 9th Judicial Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution website.

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar in Georgia if the parties have children under the age of 18. See Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8. The following is the 2011 parenting seminar schedule for Fulton County (Alpharetta, Atlanta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell):

• Saturday morning seminar once per month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Downtown Justice Center Building located at 160 Pryor Street, S.W., Courtroom G33, Atlanta, Georgia. 2011 dates – February 19, March 19, April 23, May 21, June 18, July 23, August 20, September 17, October 22, November 19, December 17

• Wednesday morning seminar once per month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the South Fulton Service Center located at 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park, Georgia in the auditorium. 2011 dates – January 26, February 23, March 23, April 27, May 25, June 22, July 27, August 24, September 28, October 26, November 23, December 28

• Thursday evening seminar once per month from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Dorothy Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex located at 6500 Vernon Woods, Drive, Building B, Sandy Springs, Georgia. 2011 dates – February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 8, October 6, November 3, December 1

Please note that both the South Fulton Service Center and the Dorothy Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex locations require pre-registration. The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person. You can find additional information about these seminars at Fulton County Families in Transition program website.

The court can deviate from the presumptive child support amount calculated by the child support worksheets for several reasons, IF the child support deviation is in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom child support is being determined. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(1)(A). The tenth deviation category under the statute is extraordinary expenses. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(J). Generally, child support is based upon “average child expenses for families given the parents’ combined adjusted income and number of children.” Id. The legislature recognized that expenses for children are highly variable and, thus, included this deviation so that these expenses may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Id. If extraordinary expenses are found, they “shall be prorated between the parents by assigning or deducting credit for actual payments” made for these extraordinary expenses. Id.

There are three types of extraordinary expenses that may be considered:

1. Extraordinary educational expenses – Includes tuition, room and board, lab fees, books, fees, and other reasonable and necessary expenses associated with education OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(i). Expenses must be “appropriate to the parent’s financial abilities and to the lifestyle of the child if the parents and the child were living together.” Id.

2. Special expenses incurred for child rearing – Includes summer camp, music/art lessons, extracurricular activities. The basic child support obligation covers average amounts for these expenses, but “when these special expenses exceed 7 percent of the basic child support obligation, then the additional amount of special expenses shall be considered as a deviation to cover the full amount of the special expenses.” OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(ii).

3. Extraordinary medical expenses – Includes medical expenses not covered by insurance that cause extreme economic hardship. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(J)(iii).

Georgia courts can deviate from the presumptive child support amount calculated by the child support worksheets for several reasons, IF the child support deviation is in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom child support is being determined. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(1)(A). The ninth deviation category under the statute is Permanency Plan or Foster Care Plan. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(I). This deviation may be considered when the child is in foster care.

Under this deviation, when the child is in the legal custody of a public or private child protection or foster care agency, the court can consider a deviation “if the deviation will assist in accomplishing a permanency plan or foster care plan for the child that has a goal of returning the child to the parent or parents and the parent’s need to establish an adequate household or to otherwise adequately prepare herself or himself for the return of the child clearly justifies a deviation for this purpose.” Id. For example, consider a situation where a child is in the custody of a state agency, and the parent is diligently working two jobs so that he/she can attain a stable residence for the child. The parent may be able to make ends meet, attain a stable residence and accomplish the goals necessary for return of the child to his/her custody, but only if he/she received a downward deviation in child support. In this situation, the court would look at the big picture and end goal, and may grant the deviation under the circumstances.

Georgia courts can deviate from the presumptive child support amount calculated by the child support worksheets for several reasons, IF the child support deviation is in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom child support is being determined. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(1)(A). The eighth deviation category under the statute is mortgage. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(H). This deviation may be considered when the noncustodial parent/child support payor is providing a home for the child. Id.

Specifically, the court may consider a deviation where “the noncustodial parent is providing shelter, such as paying the mortgage of the home, or has provided a home at no cost to the custodial parent in which the child resides.” Id. For example, a noncustodial parent may own several properties, and allow the child and custodial parent to live in one of the properties in which the noncustodial parent does not live. Like many of the other deviations, in this situation, the parent is providing a benefit to the child in addition to his or her child support obligation and, therefore, may ask the court to pay less child support. With the mortgage deviation, the court may deviate by allocating the costs of the home between the parents, or decreasing the noncustodial parent’s child support obligation by “an amount equivalent to such [housing] costs." Id.

The court can deviate from the presumptive child support amount calculated by the child support worksheets for several reasons, IF the child support deviation is in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom child support is being determined. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(1)(A). The seventh deviation category under the statute is alimony. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(G). This deviation may be considered when a parent is paying court ordered alimony.

Under the child support statute, “actual payments of alimony shall not be considered as a deduction from gross income.” Id. Rather than treating these payments as a deduction, the legislature decided to consider them "as a deviation from the presumptive amount of child support.” Id. Thus, it is not automatic that a parent will get this deviation. Unlike most of the other deviations, the court or jury must make written findings of its consideration of alimony payments as a basis for deviation. This means there must be written findings in the final order supporting the deviation.

The language "actual payments" infers that the alimony payments must actually be made. A court order for alimony payments that is not being complied with will not be sufficient.

The court can deviate from the presumptive child support amount calculated by the child support worksheets for several reasons, IF the child support deviation is in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom child support is being determined. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(1)(A). The sixth deviation category under the statute is travel expenses. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(F). This deviation is included in the statute to cover a situation where the parents live in different cities or states and visitation related travel expenses are substantial for one or both parents.

If parents live in different cities or states, the logistics for visitation can be a little more complicated. If a plane flight is necessary, and the child is too young to fly alone, one parent must fly the child to and from visitation and, thus, there are round trip airline tickets on each end. Even if the distance can be travelled by car, gas has become increasingly expensive. If travel expenses for visitation are found to be substantial, “the court may order the allocation of such costs…by deviation from the presumptive amount of child support, taking into consideration the circumstances of the respective parents as well as which parent moved and the reason for such move.” Id. The court may be more likely to allow a deviation for a parent who moved due to a job or to be closer to family who could help with child care rather than a parent who moved away from his/her children to be closer to a new girlfriend/boyfriend.

The court can deviate from the presumptive child support amount calculated by the child support worksheets for several reasons, IF the child support deviation is in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom child support is being determined. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(1)(A). The fifth deviation category under the statute is child and dependent care tax credit. OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(E). This deviation is included in the statute consider a deviation where “one of the parents is entitled to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.” Id.

A “dependent” is defined as “[a] natural or legally adopted child of the taxpayer.” OCGA §48-7A-2(3). There is a specific schedule for the child and dependent care tax credit that is based upon income, and the tax credit is basically subtracted from the amount of taxes a person owes. OCGA §48-7A-3(b). A child can only be claimed as a dependent once. Thus, after a divorce, only one parent is entitled to this tax credit for each child. Generally, the parent who has primary physical custody is entitled to this credit, though the parties can negotiate this issue as part of their settlement discussions.

If a parent is entitled to this tax credit, the court “may deviate from the presumptive amount of child support in consideration of such credit.” OCGA §19-6-15(i)(2)(E).