B.J. Abbott's blog

As a grandparent, your grandchildren are probably some of the most important and valuable people in your life, and to maintain strong relationships with them, visits are generally necessary. Family situations can prove quite complicated, however, and sometimes parents or others deny grandparents visitation, or do not permit grandparents to visit with grandchildren as much as the grandparents might like.

If you are going through a divorce and splitting everything from your bank account to time with your children down the middle, it is important that you are aware of all the joint marital property and who has access to it.

On top of all the emotional stress associated with getting divorced, there are unfortunate times where one spouse will take advantage of another and cover up assets. It is fairly common for this to happen, so you should always be aware of the warning signs.

If you have recently gone through a divorce, you may still be feeling the emotional effects and trying to sort out your new life while helping your children adjust to the changes. Divorce has the capacity to affect many aspects of your life, including your ability to finance your child’s college education.

When it comes to divorce, couples face two major property division issues. The first is deciding which property belongs to the couple and therefore must get divided. The second is the actual division of the marital property.

A common misconception about the divorce process is that it is all or nothing. Either you and your soon-to-be ex agree on every point and amiably submit your agreement, or you are caught up in a no-holds-barred courtroom battle. In Georgia, as in many other states, a third option is gaining popularity. Divorce mediation can be an effective, non-confrontational way to work out points of contention and arrive at an optimal resolution.

Many couples deal with divorce. According to research conducted by Bowling Green State University, divorce rates are falling, but they still hover between 40 and 50 percent on average. This translates to over 800,000 every year, but the commonness often does not lessen the emotional impact a divorce has on an individual. It is often devastating to recover and rebuild your life after the end of your marriage, but there are several steps you can take to lighten the struggle. These four tips are a great place to start.

If you and your spouse have decided it’s best for the two of you to go your separate ways, there are many boxes to check and emotions to be processed. At the heart of the situation, your children may be confused, angry and depressed about the changes. As a parent, you can calm their anxiety by having a solid plan in place and answers to common questions before presenting your offspring with the divorce.

During the course of your divorce proceedings, you may have felt inundated by issues that needed to be resolved in short order: child custody and support, housing considerations, asset division and career matters. At the time, you thought that the custody agreement was specific enough in how it addressed future conflicts. Now you realize that there are aspects of your new life that the custody agreement does not cover. You realize that your decision to request a modification of custody is not one to be taken lightly.

All children deserve financial support from both parents, which is a presumption child support orders all over the country address. Although each state has the ability to create its own child support guidelines, many adhere to the same standards, including at what age a child support order will terminate.

In Georgia, judges see joint custody as the better custody arrangement because it allows parents to continue to take an equal part in their children’s lives despite the fact that they are no longer living together. But just because parents are supposed to share legal and physical custody equally doesn’t always mean it happens.