Atlanta Divorce Attorney Blog

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently heard a case regarding a self-executing modification in a final decree of divorce. Johnson v. Johnson, S11F1856 (2012). In that divorce case, the final decree of divorce awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter to the mother, with supervised visitation to the father. Id. The parenting plan further provided that the father’s overnight visitation must be supervised by “a reasonable adult approved by [a therapist treating the child], until such time as [the therapist] determines that supervision is not necessary.” Id. Under the parenting plan, the therapist had the additional authority “to determine how supervised visitation should be phased out over time and when supervision may end.” Id. The father appealed, contending that the “provisions concerning the termination of the supervised visitation constituted an improper self-executing modification contingent on the determination of the therapist.” Id. at 2.

The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed with the father that the provision is an improper self-executing change of visitation because it allows for an automatic change in his visitation based on a future event, without any additional judicial scrutiny. Id. at 2-3. The Court held that “a self-executing change in custody/visitation that constitutes a material change, i.e. is one ‘that is allowable only upon a determination that it is in the best interests of the [child] at the time of the change,’ generally violates Georgia’s public policy founded on the best interests of the child.” Id. at 3. The responsibility for making this decision must be made by the court and cannot be delegated to another person or entity. Id. In this case, the provision regarding the change in the father’s visitation is considered a material change. Since, under this provision, it will occur automatically without any judicial scrutiny, “it is an invalid self-executing change of visitation” and must be stricken from the final divorce judgment. Id. at 4.

With the holiday season upon us, many divorced parents in Georgia will look to their parenting plan for guidance on arranging their holiday schedules. Parenting plans are custody agreements that are submitted jointly or individually by each party in an action that involves child custody in Georgia. Except in those cases where emergency relief is necessary due to family violence, parenting plans are required in all actions in Georgia where child custody is at issue.

A parenting plan may be temporary until a final decree is entered, at which time a permanent parenting plan will go into effect. Under Georgia law, when considering either a joint plan or opposing plans of the parties, the court must make its determination based upon the best interest of the child. O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3. The court bases its determination on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the relationship that exists between each parent and the child, and the ability of each parent to provide the child with basic necessities. Id. at a(3).

Parenting plans require that both parties acknowledge and decide on a variety of issues. O.C.G.A. § 19-9-1. Holiday visitation is one such issue, and it can be difficult and emotional for parties to come to an agreement because it requires each party to agree to some holidays away from their children. It may never be easy to split time with your child and the other parent, but a successful parenting plan can alleviate tensions between the parties and allow each parent to enjoy time with their child.

If you need help creating a parenting plan, or seek to modify your existing parenting plan, please contact our Atlanta divorce attorneys to assist you in the process.

By Courtney Carpenter, Associate Attorney, Meriwether & Tharp LLC

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently heard a case dealing with supervised visitation that was to be phased out through a transition period. In Sigal v. Sigal, before filing for divorce, the mother first filed a petition for separate maintenance. Sigal v. Sigal, S11F0835 (2011). In the decree from that case, the mother was granted primary custody and the father’s visitation was required to be supervised as a result of his documented drug and alcohol abuse problems. Id. at 2. The mother subsequently filed for divorce and “asserted that all issues regarding custody, visitation and support of the children were fully adjudicated in the decree of separate maintenance.” Id. The father disagreed and sought “reasonable and fair unsupervised visitation” with the children. Id. After hearing testimony from both parties, the trial court orally announced its ruling, holding that the father could have unsupervised visitation provided that he took and passed a drug test within the next 45 days and provided that the unsupervised visitation be phased in over a three month transition period. Id. at 3-4.

For reasons unknown, the final divorce decree was not entered for several months, though the visitation provision was entered nunc pro tunc from the date of the hearing. (This means that the visitation provision went into effect as of the date of the hearing, rather than the date of the final divorce decree). Id. at 4-5. As a result, the three-month transition period had already expired by the time the final decree was entered. Id.

For this reason, the mother appealed, and the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the trial court’s ruling. The Court held that “the nunc pro tunc action as to the gradual transition provision in the decree here did not serve to conform the decree to the truth or the justice of the situation as originally intended by the trial court.” Id. at 7. “Rather, it had the exact opposite effect by eliminating the truth and justice recognized by the trial court…regarding the need of these children for a gradual transition period from supervised to unsupervised visitation with their father.” Id. at 7-8. For this reason, the trial court abused its discretion in making the visitation provision nunc pro tunc.

Georgia divorce attorneys are often asked whether a parent’s line of work can impact child custody. In Georgia, child custody is determined using the “best interests of the child” standard. OCGA §19-9-3(a)(2). In determining the best interests of the child, ”the judge may consider any relevant factor.” OCGA §19-9-3(a)(3). This means that anything and everything may impact a custody determination, including a parent’s employment. For example, if you are a truck driver traveling 5 days a week, then it is not practical for you to be the primary physical custodian because you are not home most of the time. This factor will be weighed with all other factors in the determination of custody.

In a recent blog, we emphasized that, when going through a divorce in Georgia, it is important to understand how one holiday may mean more to one parent or family than another. This is particularly the case when it comes to religious holidays and how they are observed. Unless a spouse is particularly religious and strong in their faith, religion is not usually heavily emphasized in a divorce in Georgia. However, for some families, religion and celebrating religious holidays may be particularly important and the impact of religion on divorce must be considered.

For example, orthodox Jewish families may regularly observe the Saturday Sabbath which begins on Friday evenings and continues until Saturday evening. Some families do not use electricity or drive cars during the Sabbath. If this is the case, it is important to contemplate how telephone visitation with minor children will occur on Fridays and Saturdays and, if there is visitation scheduled, how the minor children will be transported to the other parent’s home. Spouses may also need to negotiate other aspects of such religious holidays like dietary restrictions or dress.

In cases where religion is important to one parent or the other, final decision making authority for religion or religious training may be a contentious point. It will be helpful to define what “religious training” means and whether it includes Catholic school, Sunday school, or regularly attending religious services. It is also important to determine what a more religious parent may expect from the other parent. Will both parties be required to observe dietary restrictions or dress provisions when the minor children are with each parent? When religion is an important factor in your divorce, it is better to spend the time having detailed and thorough conversations with the other parent so that clear provisions can be included in your Settlement Agreement.

By Emily Yu, Associate Attorney, Meriwether & Tharp LLC

When divorcing parents are trying to reach an agreement on holiday visitation, the holidays most often discussed are Thanksgiving, Christmas/Winter Break, Easter/Spring Break, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This is not an exhaustive list of holidays, however, and there may be some additional special days that you want to discuss when working out a visitation schedule.

For example, if your extended family has a yearly reunion on July 4 each year, it may be important for you to have the children with you on this date every year, or at least as often as possible. In addition, for those families who celebrate the Jewish High Holidays, it may be important to those parents to work out an arrangement to split the holidays each year, or for each parent to have time with the children on each holiday.

Every family is different, and a holiday that is not important to one family may be very important to another, and vice versa. If a certain day means a lot to you and/or your former spouse, make sure you work out the details and include them in your settlement agreement to minimize later disagreements.

Our Atlanta divorce attorneys have recently learned of some interactive websites that may be helpful for parents sharing custody of their children in Georgia. In particular, these websites are a helpful resource for parents who are struggling to communicate effectively or just need help staying organized.

OurFamilyWizard.com, JointParents.com and ParentingTime.net offer a range of features such as a visitation calendar, an expense log, daily journal, photo sharing, and a messaging forum. Visitation calendars allow parents to easily see who has visitation and the children's schedule. The expense log tracks who incurred an expense, the type of expense, the other parent's share, and whether that expense has been paid. Journals, photo sharing, and messaging forums provide a space for parents to communicate to each other about their children's activities, progress in school, etc. All calendars, expenses, photos and messages can be kept and recorded for future reference and may be helpful if there is future litigation. Some of the websites, like OurFamilyWizard.com, provide free professional or third party accounts for attorneys, counselors, teachers, or grandparents.

By Emily Yu, Associate Attorney, Meriwether & Tharp LLC

Last week, I discussed the Gottschalk case, where the father appealed several aspects of the Georgia trial court’s order for supervised visitation. Gottschalk v. Gottschalk, A11A0565 (2011). As mentioned, several of the father’s allegations of error were based upon the trial court’s order prohibiting dissemination of the custody evaluation. After alleging that the trial court erred in prohibiting the parties from showing the custody evaluation to their expert witnesses, the father then contended that, “regardless of the language in the orders about the custody evaluator’s report, prohibiting [the father’s] expert from testifying about the report denied [the father] his due process rights,” because the guardian relied on the report in making custody recommendations. Id. at 18.

The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected this allegation, holding that the father “had notice that the custody evaluator’s report was not to be distributed without permission of the court,” and did not avail himself of the option to obtain the court’s permission that would have allowed him to use the report. Id. at 19. In addition, the mother did not have notice that this expert would be called and moved to exclude his testimony altogether, but the court allowed the father to call the witness. Id. at 20. Thus, his due process rights were not denied. As mentioned in the previous blog, if the father had obtained permission for his expert to review and testify to the custody evaluation, as he had done with other witnesses, his expert would have been able to testify about it and he would have nothing about which to complain.

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently upheld an order for supervised visitation, despite the father's allegations of 17 errors by the trial court. Gottschalk v. Gottschalk, A11A0565 (2011). In that case, the parties consented to joint legal and physical custody of their children in their divorce action, with detailed visitation provisions in the final decree. Id. at 3. About a year later, after the father’s arrest, the mother filed a petition seeking supervised visitation for the father. Id. The trial court appointed a custody evaluator, who was to write a report to be distributed ONLY to the court, guardian ad litem and the parties, except upon the court’s express permission otherwise. Id. at 4. During the hearing, the trial court discovered that the father’s expert witness had received a copy of the custody evaluation, and barred the expert from testifying about it since the father had not received express permission to disclose it to him. Id. at 7. The trial court ultimately granted the petition for supervised visitation, holding, with significant factual support, that the father’s “conduct was potentially dangerous for the children.” Id. at 9. After the father’s motion for a new trial was denied, he appealed.

Several of the father’s allegations of error were based upon the trial court’s order prohibiting dissemination of the custody evaluation. In one enumeration of error, he alleges “the trial court erred in interpreting the court’s prior orders as forbidding the parties from allowing their expert witnesses to review the custody evaluator’s report to testify about problems with the methodology used.” Id. at 17-18. The Georgia Court of Appeals disagreed, holding that the orders were “very clear that the report could be disseminated only to the parties, attorneys, and guardian unless otherwise allowed by the court,” and the language “is not susceptible to any other interpretation.” Id. The Court of Appeals also pointed out that parties consented to the order, and “both sides had previously sought and obtained permission to reveal the contents for the report to specific people.” Id. Thus, the Court was not at all sympathetic to this allegation. If the father had just gone through the proper procedure, his expert likely would have been permitted to review the report and testify about it.

It’s hard to believe that school is about to begin (or already has begun in some counties!) in Georgia. The start of school also means the start of after school and weekend activities. This time of year can be particularly stressful for parents who are going through, or have recently gone through, a divorce, as the family adjusts to visitation with the kids’ new, and likely busier, schedules.

If your divorce is final, your final divorce decree should lay out each parent’s rights as they relate to school and extracurricular activities. In Georgia, the final parenting plan must include language indicating that “both parents will have access to all of the children’s records and information, including but not limited to, education, health, extra-curricular activities, and religious communications.” Thus, even where one parent has primary physical custody, the other parent is also entitled to equal information about the child’s school and extra-curricular activities. If you think you may have an issue getting information from your spouse, it is prudent to contact the school and/or extra-curricular entity to ask them to send you the information directly. This will cut down on any miscommunication.

If your divorce is final, and there is no temporary order addressing custody and visitation in place, we recommend that you speak to your attorney about getting such an order in place, especially if you and your spouse are unable to come to an agreement. This will ensure that both parents get time with the children, and no one misses out on any important school or extracurricular events.

In this age of technology, visitation does not just include when you will physically see your children after going through a divorce in Georgia. Visitation also includes when and how you can communicate with your children during the times in which your former spouse has custody or visitation. For many parents this is a no brainer – the children can speak or otherwise communicate with the other parent as often as they would like. In more adversarial divorces, however, this is not always the case. For a while, it has been common practice in Georgia to include a clause for telephone visitation in a settlement agreement or final divorce decree.

Recently, family law attorneys have been recommending a clause for email visitation as well, once the children are age appropriate. This clause can be as simple stating that the children may communicate with the other parent via email, texting, or any other means of communication. We also recommend that there is language that the emails between parent and child be private and confidential, to cut down on the other parent reading or intercepting the emails. Again, for many parents, email visitation is not an issue. However, if you think that it may be an issue in your situation, be sure to ask for a clause in your settlement agreement or ask the judge to put a clause in your final divorce decree.

If your divorce is final in Georgia, your divorce decree will state who has legal and physical custody of the children. Legal custody deals with decision-making, and physical custody generally reflects with which parent the children will spend most of their time. Often, the major legal custody categories (health, education, religion, and extracurricular activities) are split between the parents, with one parent having final decision-making authority on two categories and the other parent having final decision-making authority on the other two. The divorce decree usually states that the parties both have access to all records and should try to work together but, if they cannot come to an agreement, the final decision-making authority kicks in.

Day-to-day decisions are handled differently, however. In Georgia, a final divorce decree is required to state: “Each parent shall make decisions regarding the day-to-day care of a child while that child is residing with that parent including any emergency decisions affecting the health or safety of a child.” Thus, if a child gets injured while in the custody of the parent who does not have final decision-making on health issues, that parent can still seek treatment for the child. Parents should use their common sense in situations such as this and keep the other parent informed of any major decisions made that affect the children.

When parents are going through, or have gone through, a divorce, one of the hardest adjustments is often learning how to work together to co-parent the children after child custody is determined. Co-parenting includes coordinating your schedules and those of the children, working together for visitation exchange, working out holidays, and making decisions regarding the children.

Sometimes, even something as simple as seeing the other person during a visitation exchange can be complicated. It may be difficult if one or both parents have animosity toward the other, or it may be awkward if a parent is remarried and the new spouse is there. If switching the children at a parent’s house results in an uncomfortable situation, consider switching the location, or possibly having another person present during the exchange. (Make sure this person will not exacerbate the situation!) Some parents meet at a designated store or shopping center. This takes away the opportunity for the parents to be completely alone together, and can lessen the awkwardness for both the parents and the children.

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently reversed a trial court's decision regarding a restriction on overnight guests during a parent's visitation time. Ward v. Ward, S11A0437 (2011). In that case, the parties’ Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce awarded primary physical custody of the children to the father, with the mother receiving substantial visitation. Id. About a year after the divorce, the parties each filed modification actions and the divorce decree was amended to include a visitation provision providing that the mother “shall not have any overnight male guests while the minor children are present.” Id.

The mother appealed, arguing that the amended visitation provision was overbroad, and the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed. Id. at 2. Presumably, this provision was included to prohibit the mother from having a boyfriend spend the night, but the Court was moved by the mother’s argument that, as written, the provision “prohibits her from having her father, a brother, a new spouse, or even the children’s father spend the night at her house while the minor children are present.” Id. Generally, “a trial court has discretion to place restrictions on custodial parents’ behavior that will harm their children,” but here, the restriction prohibits the mother from having non-romantic male visitors, which were not shown to be harmful to the children. Id. at 3. Thus, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the trial court abused its discretion in amending the divorce decree in this manner.

Provisions such as the one addressed in this case are fairly common in divorce decrees. A better way to write this provision would be that the mother shall not have any overnight male guest that is not related by blood or marriage while the minor children are present.

The Supreme Court of Georgia often hears appeals of custody determinations, though the standard to overturn a trial court's ruling on this issue is very high. In a recent case, the parties’ Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce awarded the parties joint legal custody of their eight-year-old daughter, with the Wife receiving primary physical custody and the Husband receiving visitation. Reed v. Reed, S11A0085 (2011). The Husband appealed, challenging the trial court’s custody determination. Id.

The Supreme Court of Georgia disagreed with the Husband, emphasizing long standing Georgia law that, so long as the trial court used its discretion “to determine solely what is for the best interest of the child and what will best promote the child’s welfare and happiness,” the Court will not interfere. Id. at 1-2; OCGA §19-9-3(a)(2). The Court found that there was “ample evidence” to support the trial court’s custody award, specifically that “...Wife had served as primary caregiver since the child’s birth and had a strong, loving relationship with the child, and that Husband had on occasions both before and during the divorce proceedings exhibited conduct casting doubt on his trustworthiness, truthfulness, and judgment.” Reed, at 2. The Supreme Court of Georgia touched on the Husband’s argument that the trial court “failed to consider the Wife’s anticipated move to North Carolina,” but held that the trial court considered this fact and “did not find it dispositive with regard to the child’s best interests.” Id. Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion and the judgment was affirmed.

With school getting out and summer upon us, it seems appropriate to discuss summer visitation. Whether you are currently going through a divorce, or have already gone through a divorce, summer visitation is something that you and your former spouse (or soon-to-be former spouse) should discuss. Camp and other extracurricular activities can often take up a lot of the children’s time, so it is important that you are on the same page about these activities and how they may impact visitation.

If your divorce is final, you are required to abide by your final divorce decree regarding vsummer visitation. Often, divorce decrees allow each parent to take the children on a vacation for up to two uninterrupted weeks, so long as each parent notifies the other of his/her intent. I recommend that you go back and read your divorce decree to make sure you are clear on your rights and obligations.

If you do not yet have a final divorce decree and there is no temporary order governing custody and visitation for the summer, I highly recommend that you seek to get a temporary agreement in place. There are several reasons for coming to a summer visitation arrangement sooner rather than later: (1) You can make travel plans, if necessary; (2) You can make arrangements for taking time off work or arranging child care/camp during the time you have the children; and (3) You can ensure that both parents will have some time with the children over the summer.

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed long standing law in limiting court ordered visitation to parents and grandparents. Morris v. Morris, A11A0013 (2011). In that legitimation case, the biological mother appealed the legitimation order, not because the trial court granted the legitimation petition, but because the trial court granted visitation rights to the father’s sister. Id.

After the father testified that he wanted his sister “to be available to help him with child visits but not to replace him on the visitations,” the trial court awarded visitation to the father “and/or [the father’s sister],” over the mother’s objection. Id. This essentially amounted to the possibility of separate visitation for the father’s sister since, according to the wording of the order, the father was not required to be there.

The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed with the mother that it was error for the trial court to grant these visitation rights. (Interestingly, the father conceded that the trial court erred in this regard.) Id. at 2. Generally, “[t]he right to determine whom the child shall visit and associate with, and when, where, and how often these visits and associations shall take place, is an inseparable and inalienable ingredient of the right of a parent to custody and control of a minor child.” Id. at 2-3. According to Georgia law, only grandparents have the right to sue and obtain for visitation rights. OCGA §19-7-3(c). Though certain other family members may seek custody (OCGA §19-7-1(b.1)), the father’s sister was not doing so. Therefore, since no Georgia law exists to award visitation in this circumstance, the order awarding visitation rights to the father’s sister was vacated.

Any case in Georgia involving child custody must have a formal parenting plan incorporated into the final decree. OCGA §19-9-1. In addition to the general acknowledgments discussed in the previous blog, there are also several specific things that must be included in the parenting plan:

(A) Where and when a child will be in each parent’s physical care, designating where the child will spend each day of the year;

(B) How holidays, birthdays, vacations, school breaks, and other special occasions will be spent with each parent including the time of day that each event will begin and end;

(C) Transportation arrangements including how the child will be exchanged between the parents, the location of the exchange, how the transportation costs will be paid, and any other matter relating to the child spending time with each parent;

(D) Whether supervision will be needed for any parenting time and, if so, the particulars of the supervision;

(E) An allocation of decision-making authority to one or both of the parents with regard to the child's education, health, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and if the parents agree the matters should be jointly decided, how to resolve a situation in which the parents disagree on resolution; and

(F) What, if any, limitations will exist while one parent has physical custody of the child in terms of the other parent contacting the child and the other parent's right to access education, health, extracurricular activity, and religious information regarding the child.

OCGA §19-9-1(b)(2)(A)-(F). These items give specific guidance to parents as to all the details surrounding custody and visitation in an effort to eliminate confusion or disagreements.

Ideally, the parents will work together to come up with a parenting plan that addresses their unique situation. However, if the parents are unable to agree, each party shall file a proposed parenting plan with the judge, who will make the ultimate decision considering both proposals and the best interests of the child. OCGA §19-9-1(c).

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.

In this installment of An Atlanta Divorce Attorney’s Thoughts on Celebrity Divorce, I’m going to address the divorce of Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller. People magazine recently reported that the parties have each filed for divorce. Sheen is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their twin boys, and Mueller is seeking primary physical custody with visitation rights for Sheen.

Surprisingly, it appears that this divorce might not be as contested as one would imagine, given their history together. Apparently, while separated earlier this year, they entered into an agreement settling matters of child custody, child support and equitable division. It appears that spousal support may still be a contested issue. In addition, it appears that Sheen’s divorce filing differed from the purported agreement on the issue of custody.

If the parties do end up in court with a contested divorce, my guess, based upon their history, is that it won’t be pretty. Both parties have recently been in rehab for substance abuse – a fact the judge would seriously consider in awarding custody. In addition, Sheen was sentenced to domestic violence counseling stemming from their altercation over Christmas last year, and was recently hospitalized after an “incident” at the Plaza Hotel. Each party will likely drag the other through the mud in trying to prove to the judge that he or she should be awarded custody. If this case was in Georgia, the judge would hear all of the evidence and weigh many factors before awarding custody based on the best interests of the children standard.

If you are going through a divorce, or have recently gone through a divorce, the holidays can be a particularly difficult time. When you and your former spouse (or soon-to-be former spouse) have children together, this time of year can be even more challenging for everyone involved as the whole family will have to cope with spending holidays separately.

If your divorce is final, you are required to abide by your final divorce decree regarding who has the children for the holidays. If you do not yet have a final divorce decree and there is no temporary order governing custody and visitation for the holidays, I highly recommend that you seek to get an agreement in place. There are several reasons for coming to a holiday arrangement sooner rather than later: (1) You can make travel plans, if necessary; (2) You can make arrangements for taking time off work or getting child care during the time you have the children when they will be off school; (3) You can ensure that both parents will have some time with the children over the holidays; and (4) The children will know what to expect and may, therefore, be able to cope with the changes a little better.

In making an agreement, you may want to consider our sample holiday visitation ideas.

Final decision-making regarding children and religion can be an important issue for many parents going through a divorce. The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed this issue. In Greene v. Greene, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement in their divorce action, which provided that the parties would have joint legal custody with the mother as the sole physical custodian. Greene v. Greene, A10A1463 (2010). In addition, the mother would have final decision-making authority on all matters related to religion. Id. The parties agreed that “the child would be raised in the Jewish faith, would attend Hebrew school, become Bat Mitzvah and follow other Jewish traditions." Id. at 4. After the father violated this provision of the Settlement Agreement, the mother filed a motion for contempt. The trial court granted the mother’s motion, and the father appealed.

On appeal the father admitted that, in spite of the agreement, he had taken the child to numerous Christian churches, shared Christian prayers with the child, read the Bible to the child, played Christian music for the child, gave the child Christian books and DVDs, and told the child that she was “Jewish on the outside and Christian on the inside.” Id. The father acknowledged that he knew the Settlement Agreement gave the mother final decision making authority on religion, but contended that the trial court’s ruling “restricted his freedom to share his religious beliefs with his child.” Id. at 2.

The Georgia Court of Appeals disagreed with the father. The Court held that when the Settlement Agreement is “clear, unambiguous, and capable of only one interpretation as written, the provision’s plain meaning must be strictly enforced.” Id. at 5, quoting Page v. Baylard, 281 Ga. 586, 587 (1) (642 SE2d 14) (2007). In affirming the trial court’s ruling, the Court said “the Settlement Agreement is clear that Wife had the right to make the final decisions about the child’s religious upbringing, and the trial court correctly concluded that the Agreement governs.” Id. at 5.

This week in An Atlanta Divorce Attorney’s Thoughts on Celebrity Divorce, I’m going to discuss the well-publicized divorce of Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren. The scandal surrounding Tiger’s multiple extramarital affairs began around Thanksgiving 2009. For the next several months, it seemed like women with whom he had affairs were coming out of the woodwork and speaking to the media each week. Throughout what must have been a gut wrenching time for Nordegren, she remained tactful, continuing her life as privately as possible, and did not thwart the relationship between Woods and their children.

A lesson to take from Nordegren is, no matter what your spouse has put you through and how angry you are at him/her, put your children first. At a time when she could have easily badmouthed Woods in the media and to their children, possibly ruining their relationship with him, she remained discreet. She only spoke to the media once and, even then, she called Woods a good father and refused to share details of the previous 10 months. Due to her actions, the children will likely have a positive relationship with both of their parents despite the hurt and anger that may exist between the parents.

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar 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 weekday seminar (from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm) or two two-hour evening sessions (from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm). The schedule for the remainder of 2010 is as follows:

Thursday morning classes (8:30am – 1:00pm): September 2, September 16, October 7, October 21, November 4, November 18, December 2, December 16

Monday evening classes (7:00pm – 9:00pm): September 13 AND 20, October 11 AND 18, November 8 AND 15, December 13 AND 20

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.

When one thinks of custody and visitation in a divorce case, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is: “When will I see my children?” An important aspect of visitation is not only when you will see your children, but also when you will be able to speak to them during the times in which your former spouse has custody/visitation. For many parents this is a no brainer – the children can speak to the other parent as often as they would like. In more adversarial divorces, however, this is not always the case. Sometimes one parent may feel that the other parent calls too often, disrupting his/her visitation or custodial time, or calls at inopportune times, when the children are doing homework or asleep.

Our family law firm recommends putting a clause in your settlement agreement addressing telephone visitation. It can be as simple as stating that the children may call the other parent at any time, but the parents may only once per day. It may also address issues such as one parent eavesdropping while the child(ren) is speaking to the other parent.

If you are unable to settle your divorce case and you believe telephone visitation may be an issue with your former spouse, be sure to bring it up to the Judge so that he/she may rule on it in the Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce and your rights will be protected.

As Atlanta divorce attorneys, we are often asked about the right way to tell children that you and your spouse are getting a divorce. A divorce is a very difficult process to go through and, often times, it is toughest on the children who may struggle to understand why their family is changing, and may feel like their family is falling apart. Generally, there is no “right” way to tell the children, as every family is different and the reasons for the divorce can vary greatly. The important thing is to make the children understand that, though you and your spouse are separating, you both love them and will always be there for them. Depending on the ages of your children, it may also be helpful for the children to understand how the future will work – when they will see the parent who is moving out, who will take them to school, where they will live, etc. However you and your spouse choose to break the news to the children, do not let the conversation turn into finger pointing or bashing the other person. This will only make the whole process more difficult on the children, and will make for a much more acrimonious divorce.

When presenting your divorce, custody modification, child support modification, or other family law case to the trial court, it is imperative that your Atlanta divorce attorney presents all relevant evidence in your case. The Supreme Court of Georgia recently denied an appeal by a father in a divorce case who attempted to present evidence in his appellate brief that he did not present at his hearing in front of the Dekalb County trial court. Bankston v. Lachman, 286 Ga. 459 (2010). In that divorce case, the trial court awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ two-year-old daughter to the mother and awarded visitation to the father “for four hours each weekend until the child begins kindergarten full time,” at which point overnight visitation would begin. Id. at 459. Though the father requested overnight visitation to begin immediately, the trial court denied his request, explaining that “it believed young children should not spend long periods and weekends with non-custodial parents…[b]ased on everything [the court] had read and talked to about child development experts…” Id. at 460.

The father appealed the trial court’s denial of additional visitation arguing that “the trial court is out of sync with current opinion about the need to establish a firm parental bond between a child and his or her non-custodial parent,” and referencing two models recommending “that children have more visitation time, including overnight visits, with non-custodial parents, beginning at an early age, and increasing as the child grows older.” Id. The Supreme Court of Georgia pointed out, however, “the record does not reflect that that these models were presented to the trial court; nor does it show that trial counsel made the argument which husband asserts on appeal.” Id. Thus, these arguments could not be relied upon on appeal. The father had to prove that the trial court abused its discretion in ruling on the evidence presented to it, and this the father could not do.

In discussing a visitation arrangement with your soon to be ex-spouse, it is important to address your child’s birthday. Unfortunately, following a divorce, many parents do not have a relationship that would allow them to celebrate the child’s birthday together so they have to somehow share this important day in their child’s life. One option is for the parents to alternate years, with one parent having the child on his/her birthday in even years and the other parent having the child on his/her birthday in odd years. Another option is to split the day between the parents. For example, the child could spend the night with one parent on the night before his/her birthday and stay with that parent through lunchtime. The other parent would then have the child for the afternoon and evening of his/her birthday. This way, each parent gets quality time with the child on his/her birthday to have a party or otherwise celebrate with them.

“Standard visitation” works well for some parents, but it may not be realistic for your family. In coming up with a visitation schedule with your spouse, it is important to consider the special circumstances in your family’s lives, such as the following:

Work commitments – Do you or does your spouse travel during the week? If so, weeknight visitation may not work for the travelling parent. Do you or does your spouse work late during the week? In this situation, an overnight during the week, rather than just dinner, may allow you to keep your work commitments while spending some quality time with your children during the week.

Children’s extracurricular activities – Do your children participate in extracurricular activities? Is it appropriate for parents to attend and watch the activity (ex: baseball practice, cheerleading practice)? Will you and your spouse both attend these activities or will you alternate? Perhaps the noncustodial parent can have dinner before or after the extracurricular activity to give him/her additional time. If the activities occur on weekends, you might be able to see your children at these activities even when it is not your weekend.

Holidays are special times for most families and one of the most difficult things for divorcing parents to come to terms with is the fact that they will not be spending all of the holidays with their children every year after the divorce. This can be difficult for the children as well as the parents so it is important to create a schedule where each parent has significant time with the children during the holidays.

The following is an example of a holiday visitation schedule that has worked for many parents:

In even numbered years, the Father has Thanksgiving and the second week of Christmas Vacation/Winter Break (beginning the afternoon of Christmas Day), while the Mother has Easter/Spring Break and the first week of Christmas Vacation/Winter Break (ending the afternoon of Christmas Day). In odd numbered years, the Father has Easter/Spring Break and the first week of Christmas Vacation/Winter Break (ending the afternoon of Christmas Day), while the Mother has Thanksgiving and the second week of Christmas Vacation/Winter Break (beginning the afternoon of Christmas Day). The Mother has Mother’s Day every year, and the Father has Father’s Day every year. Any holiday that falls on a Monday (i.e. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day) will belong to the parent who has the children the preceding weekend.

If you are going through a divorce and you and your spouse have children together, an inevitable question will be: how often will I see my children? It is most common for one parent to have primary physical custody with the other parent having secondary physical custody and visitation. In discussing the custody and visitation arrangement with your spouse or divorce attorney, you will likely hear the term “standard visitation.”

“Standard visitation” is generally every other weekend with one overnight during the week in which the non-custodial parent does not have weekend visitation. Standard visitation includes an equal split of all holidays. Each parent generally has half of the holidays each year with the holidays rotating every other year. For example, one parent will have Thanksgiving with the children in even numbered years and the other parent will have Thanksgiving with the children in odd numbered years. In addition, with standard visitation, each parent generally has blocks of extended time (2-3 weeks) during the summer for vacations with the children.

Our divorce law firm likes to use “standard visitation” as a starting point for custody and visitation discussions as the “standard visitation” outlined above does not work for all families. Some families want different holidays addressed while work commitments may keep some parents from having overnights with the children during the week. Whatever your family’s situation, it is important to find a visitation schedule that works well for both parents as well as the children.