What Is the Process for Adoption in Georgia?

Separation or divorce is challenging for any family, but if both parents are committed to the best interests of their kids, then creating an effective co-parenting plan is absolutely possible. It can provide the structure your children need during this transition, and a child custody lawyer experienced in family law can help you build a plan that fits your family's needs and will pass muster with the courts. more How to Build an Effective Co-Parenting Plan The Child's Best Interest Your first job is to keep every decision centered on what helps your child feel loved and stable and will contribute best to their ability to thrive for the long term. Start by sitting down, together or even separately at first, and listing what your child's daily life looks like right now. Here are some things to consider: School start times Bedtime routines Favorite activities Doctor visits (Who usually takes them?) Homework help (Who usually helps them?) Diet (Who usually feeds them? Who shops?) Write these details out so you can build a schedule around your child as much as possible instead of forcing big changes onto them. This simple step prevents confusion and helps your child keep the same friends, teachers, and basic rhythm of life as much as possible. Weekly Schedule Next, create a clear weekly schedule that shows exactly when your child will be with each of you. Include regular weekdays, weekends, and overnights (you'll figure in holidays and breaks later: at first, just plan for "normal.") Factor in your work hours and your child's age, too, because younger kids often need shorter stretches away from their primary home at first, while older children can handle longer visits. Put the schedule in writing and post copies in both homes. This not only reduces the possibility of arguments between you and your spouse but also gives your child something reliable to count on. Plan for the Abnormal Holidays, school breaks, and vacations need to be planned for, too. Decide in advance who gets Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, the first week of summer, etc, and remember that you can make this plan truly yours if you can agree and show it's in your child's best interest. Maybe you want to rotate through all the big holidays each year, or maybe you would like to have your child with one parent for all major holidays one year and with the other parent the next year. Think about birthdays, long weekends, and your child's relationship with grandparents, uncles and aunts, and cousins on both sides of the family. Major Decisions Spell out who will handle healthcare choices, both routine and major; school enrollment; religious activities; and extracurriculars. Some parents split these areas entirely, while others set some basic ground rules and then agree to discuss everything else important. Day-to-day choices, like bedtime or screen time, can usually stay with whichever parent has the child at the time, but the overall routine should be as close to the same as possible in both homes. Talk to a Child Custody Lawyer Call us today at Davis, Chapman, & Wilder, LLC in Augusta, GA to request a consultation. We offer compassionate help, and we can assist you in developing a plan that the courts will approve, your family can live with, and that's in the best interests of your child.

Child support orders in Augusta, GA are not permanent. They can be adjusted whenever you can show that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred since the order was entered or last modified. However, Georgia family law controls this process and sets the terms for how and when you can make these kinds of changes. more A "Substantial" Change The law requires that something substantial have taken place to make a change to your orders. Usually, this will be something that has significant and continuing effects upon either parent's ability to pay or the child's financial needs. The courts and the Division of Child Support Services will want to see evidence of the real impact this change has had, and you must prove the change with actual records, not just descriptions. Common Examples: Involuntary loss of income of 25% or more Loss of job when an employer shuts down operations or a serious long-term illness or accident stops someone from working for over a year Starting to receive TANF benefits or receiving an unexpected windfall, like an inheritance Development of a serious medical condition by either parent or the child New unexpected expenses for schooling or other child needs Change in living arrangements What's Not a Substantial Change If you or the other parent have voluntarily quit a steady job for a lower-paying one or switched to part-time work when full-time opportunities exist, this generally won't count, even if your income has gone down significantly. New expenses like having another child, buying a home, or taking on debt usually won't count, either, since these are all free choices that should have been made by accommodating the order that was already in place. General increases in living costs may or may not allow you to make an adjustment: it depends on the situation. If the cost of living generally has gone up substantially, but your income has not, the court may agree to hear the case for making a change. But if your cost of living has gone up because you've made choices you didn't have to, they likely won't. How Custody Affects Things A meaningful increase or decrease in actual parenting time, compared to the court order, may support a petition to do a recalculation of child support. These issues sometimes run alongside a support modification, though separate filings may still be required, depending on the details. Working With a Family Law Attorney An attorney can help you review your request and give you sound advice about whether it's likely to meet the threshold and be accepted. Then, your attorney will prepare the paperwork and argue the case. Your attorney represents you and your interests at the hearing, where the judge decides first whether the change meets the legal threshold and then applies the guidelines to set any revised amount. For help with your custody or support issue, contact Davis, Chapman, & Wilder in Augusta, GA today. As a leading local law firm, we've been voted 10 Best Law Firms for Customer Satisfaction by the Institute of Family Law Attorneys, and we have more than 30 years of experience helping the families of Georgia during the toughest times of life.

Drug-related accusations can be very intimidating to face, but with an experienced drug crimes attorney helping you, you'll find there are effective criminal defense strategies that can protect your rights and give you a clear path forward. more Common Criminal Defense Strategies Improper Search and Seizure If the police didn't do things right when they searched you or your property, your lawyer can file a motion to suppress any evidence they found. The police must have had: Your permission to search A valid warrant Probable cause that a crime had been committed If they didn't have at least one of those three things, then their search wasn't legal, and, in practice, this often means the entire case collapses because prosecutors lose the drugs, paraphernalia, or statements that they planned to use against you. Your lawyer will dig into the timeline and force the state to prove that every step they took was lawful. Challenges to the Evidence Forensic labs have protocols they must follow for handling, testing, and storing drug evidence. But they make mistakes, as we all do, and if they do, your lawyer can use this. Sometimes samples get mislabeled, something gets contaminated, or calibration records are off. Your lawyer can challenge the reliability of the testing process itself sometimes, too, and if the state cannot prove the substance they're using against you in court was the exact drug they say they took from you, and show that it remained in an unbroken chain of evidence from seizure to analysis, there's room for reasonable doubt. Questions About Possession Many accusations rest on the claim that you “controlled” the drugs. But if the police found the drugs in a shared car, house, or backpack, that's not enough just to claim. The prosecutor has to actually show that you knew the drugs were there and had the power to exercise control over them. Diversion and Negotiation If the facts are locked down and can't be contested, then your lawyer may be able to defend you by negotiating on your behalf. For example, you might be eligible for a diversion program. If you are, and if you successfully complete it, you could keep a conviction off your record entirely. Plea negotiations could also help. Prosecutors in our state have plenty to do and limited lab resources. When your lawyer presents strong arguments that show it won't be simple and easy for them to prove the charge they're bringing, the state often agrees to reduce the charges or recommend probation instead of prison. Calling in Experts An experienced lawyer knows which expert witnesses to call in. Toxicologists, for example, can explain how field tests sometimes produce false positives or how prescription medications can interfere with your drug screening. Medical professionals can testify that you had a legitimate prescription or that the quantity involved was consistent with personal use. Talk to a Drug Crimes Attorney Now If you are facing drug-related accusations, contact us at Davis, Chapman, & Wilder in Augusta, GA now. The sooner we get started on your case, the more likely it is we can get a good result for your defense.