TheGeekess
Keeper of the Kraken
What is the name of your state? GA, for this discussion
Just came across something interesting whilst doing some research. According to the website http://www.gafamilylawblog.com/visitation/index.html
(The Georgia Family Law Blog):
"2008 Brings New Child Custody Laws
The New Year will bring several new laws to Georgia including more changes to the state's rules for divorcing parents. The new law streamlines the process for determining child custody because the bill's sponsors said our old laws often trapped kids in traumatic legal battles.
Representative Judy Manning (R) chairs the House Children and Youth Committee. She and other sponsors of the new law said they'd heard from parents of kids stuck in custody fights that never seemed to end.
So, the 2007 legislature passed some changes.
One requires each parent in a custody contest to file a parenting plan with the court. The hope is the judge could then get both parents to sit down and agree on a final plan; so mom and dad won't fight to pile up hours with the kids, just to win custody from a judge who doesn't know their individual lives.
“The idea that you can count the hours that you had with your child was really too tight for the parents. It got to be too personal, and too much of a squabble,” Manning said.
Other parts of the new law:
# Judges can award attorney's fees. That's supposed to keep wealthier parents from using constant challenges as a weapon.
# Parents can further streamline the process by agreeing to use binding arbitration instead of the courts.
# Kids 14 and over can no longer be the sole deciders of which parent's house they'll call home.
“Sometimes it became part of a bidding war, where one parent would promise a car or a computer or a cell phone or whatever,” Manning said."
I guess it's time for us to update our response to "How old...."
Just came across something interesting whilst doing some research. According to the website http://www.gafamilylawblog.com/visitation/index.html
(The Georgia Family Law Blog):
"2008 Brings New Child Custody Laws
The New Year will bring several new laws to Georgia including more changes to the state's rules for divorcing parents. The new law streamlines the process for determining child custody because the bill's sponsors said our old laws often trapped kids in traumatic legal battles.
Representative Judy Manning (R) chairs the House Children and Youth Committee. She and other sponsors of the new law said they'd heard from parents of kids stuck in custody fights that never seemed to end.
So, the 2007 legislature passed some changes.
One requires each parent in a custody contest to file a parenting plan with the court. The hope is the judge could then get both parents to sit down and agree on a final plan; so mom and dad won't fight to pile up hours with the kids, just to win custody from a judge who doesn't know their individual lives.
“The idea that you can count the hours that you had with your child was really too tight for the parents. It got to be too personal, and too much of a squabble,” Manning said.
Other parts of the new law:
# Judges can award attorney's fees. That's supposed to keep wealthier parents from using constant challenges as a weapon.
# Parents can further streamline the process by agreeing to use binding arbitration instead of the courts.
# Kids 14 and over can no longer be the sole deciders of which parent's house they'll call home.
“Sometimes it became part of a bidding war, where one parent would promise a car or a computer or a cell phone or whatever,” Manning said."
###
I guess it's time for us to update our response to "How old...."
