Most Atlanta area Court hearings are held remotely by Zoom or WebEx.  Hindson & Melton has processed COVID divorces with great success, settling cases promptly and efficiently when the parties are motivated to get it done.  Mediations are conducted safely and remotely with each party and lawyer dialing in from their preferred location – home or office.  Our experience during COVID has been that lawyers have cooperated to try to accommodate each individual’s health and safety concerns and cooperated to try to achieve out-of-court settlements acceptable to all.  Court personnel are appreciative of the parties working to resolve their issues cooperatively, saving judicial resources for cases that need emergency attention and intervention.  In our experience, the metro Atlanta Courts are processing our settlement agreements and issuing final divorce decrees quickly.  Where a final hearing is needed, the Courts have scheduled virtual hearings and ruled on the spot so the case can be finalized.

Are both parties required to have attorneys to get a divorce?  Not necessarily.  Ethically, an attorney can represent only one side of a divorce case.  Representing both parties would be a conflict of interest for the lawyer.  However, it is possible for one party to be unrepresented during settlement discussions if he or she is comfortable doing so – reserving the right to have a separate attorney review settlement documents prior to committing to the terms.

An experienced attorney can help you “cut to the chase” on financial and parenting issues.  Having a good idea of what would happen if you went to Court gives you information you need to resolve the case by agreement – often saving thousands of dollars in attorneys fees.

Hindson & Melton is open for business.  We can meet with you in person at the office in a large socially-distanced conference room (with masks), outside in our office courtyard seating area, over the phone, or via Zoom.  Call 770-939-3936 to schedule an appointment with Karen Hindson, or 770-512-8383 to schedule an appointment with Joy Melton.  We look forward to serving your legal needs with forthright advice, kindness, and compassion.

Karen S. Hindson 9-4-2020

In 2017, the basic exclusion amount was $5.49 million, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017  doubled the exclusion amount for years 2018 through 2025.  As of now, the 2017 provisions end in 2025 and the exclusion amount will go back to the old amount.  The 2017 tax law made portability permanent,  meaning a spouse can make use of the unused portion of the deceased spouse’s estate tax exclusion.  The 2017 tax law also made the basic exclusion amount permanent.

Keeping track of estate tax law changes can be important to your family’s financial future.  Atlanta law firm Hindson & Melton LLC can assist you with estate planning tailored for your family’s needs and goals.  Call us to discuss your family’s situation.

© Karen S. Hindson, Hindson & Melton LLC

O.C.G.A. § 19-9-6 includes the following definitions regarding joint custody:

“Joint custody” means joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both joint legal custody and joint physical custody. In making an order for joint custody, the judge may order joint legal custody without ordering joint physical custody.

“Joint legal custody” means both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child, including the child’s education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious training; provided, however, that the judge may designate one parent to have sole power to make certain decisions while both parents retain equal rights and responsibilities for other decisions.

“Joint physical custody” means that physical custody is shared by the parents in such a way as to assure the child of substantially equal time and contact with both parents.

“Sole custody” means a person, including, but not limited to, a parent, has been awarded permanent custody of a child by a court order. Unless otherwise provided by court order, the person awarded sole custody of a child shall have the rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child, including the child’s education, health care, extracurricular activities, and religious training, and the noncustodial parent shall have the right to visitation or parenting time. A person who has not been awarded custody of a child by court order shall not be considered as the sole legal custodian while exercising visitation rights or parenting time.”

Frequently, agreements between parents provide for joint legal custody with one party being the primary physical custodian of the children. One parent may have final decision-making authority for all issues concerning the children, or the decision-making can be divided with each parent having final authority over different areas (such as education, health care, extracurricular activities, or religious upbringing).

Who decides custody issues?

The decision of who will have custody can be made in several ways:

• by the parents as a result of their discussions, or
• by the parents with the help of their lawyers, or
• by the parents with the help of a mediator (who has no authority to make a decision), with or without attorneys participating, or
• by the parents agreeing to binding arbitration on child custody and related matters, or
• by the judge after a hearing or trial.

Many law firms, including Hindson & Melton LLC, will work collaboratively to assist parties seeking amicable custody agreements that are in the children’s best interests. For more information, or to discuss your Georgia child custody questions, contact Atlanta area lawyers Hindson and Melton LLC.

© Karen S. Hindson, Hindson & Melton, LLC   January 22, 2014

ALSO SEE:

• PARENTING PLAN REQUIRED FOR ALL GEORGIA CUSTODY CASES
• COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE
• DIVORCE COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

What is divorce cognitive behavioral therapy?

Divorce cognitive behavioral therapy is not a term found in the dictionary.  It is not a clinical subspecialty.  It is therapy provided by someone trained in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, specifically addressing negative behaviors and thought patterns that the client experiences in response to a divorce.

Not being a licensed psychologist, my understanding of cognitive behavioral therapy is admittedly rudimentary.  This type of therapy focuses on changing behavior and patterns that cause the client emotional pain.  The client develops increased self-awareness of the thinking and actions that contribute to his negative mood, and strategies for positive change.  The good news about cognitive behavioral therapy is that it can offer substantial improvement in a short period of time.

What about the cost?

Explore the sources of divorce cognitive behavioral therapy available in your community and the out-of-pocket costs.  Insurance or employee benefits might help.  In the Atlanta divorce area, there are many qualified therapists trained in cognitive behavioral techniques.  If you think that you cannot afford cognitive behavioral therapy, remember that it is focused and specifically targets self-defeating thoughts and actions.  To the extent that you are thinking rationally and functioning better, you will save money on legal fees.  Divorce cases can cost thousands more than necessary when a party is out of control or simply cannot deal with the stress.   A client who is functioning well can partner with his divorce attorney to make smart decisions about the case.   If both spouses are functioning well, the case has good prospects for settlement without wasting attorneys fees on drama or unfounded fears.

Examples of destructive thinking during divorce

Divorce cognitive behavioral therapy can address self-destructive habits such as:

• Ruminating -  obsessive thinking about an event, magnifying the stress, anxiety, or anger associated with the memory.  Rumination doesn’t help solve the problem but rather makes it worse.  The client gets more and more wound up and miserable.  Rumination is a habit that you can learn to identify and change.
• Catastrophizing - focusing on the worst possible outcome, even if it is irrational.  This is easy to do in a divorce, where fears about the future can get out of control.  A few sessions of therapy can turn “I’ll never get a job”  into “I’m confident that I will get a job, but it may take some time”.  Dire predictions about the future are usually wrong and make you miserable.
• Dwelling on the past or the future – it’s easy to look back and have regrets about the past, but you can’t change it.   Worrying about the future won’t improve it – but it may create enough anxiety that you can’t function well.  Therapy can help you live in the present, and plan for your future.
• Thinking in extremes – black and white thinking leaves you negative and depressed.

Helpful behavioral tools or strategies might include:

• Redirecting thoughts or self-distraction
• Intentionally connecting with other people for support and encouragement
• Following a more structured routine
• Meditating
• Setting attainable and specific goals
• Incorporating activities into your schedule if you have withdrawn
• Being aware of whether you are harder on yourself than you are on others

To a certain extent, most people engage in one or more of the unhealthy thinking habits.  During the stress of a divorce, mental health can deteriorate in a hurry if flawed thinking is allowed to flourish.  Divorce cognitive behavioral therapy can help.

© Karen S. Hindson, Hindson & Melton LLC  April 25, 2013

Facebook and your divorce case don’t mix

“YES” answers to these questions show that you need to understand what Facebook can mean in the divorce process, especially as it relates to custody and visitation decisions.  It is a very rare case where both parties come to complete agreement on custody and visitation schedules without any anxiety or animosity between them.  In the past, the anxiety and animosity would be communicated to the party’s attorney and then the attorneys would negotiate a resolution.  Today, parties are simply (and  ill-advisedly) expressing the anxiety, animosity, and anger they feel for each other on Facebook and other social media sites.   Instead of talking privately with each other, communication is being reduced to text messages or online posts.   Tempers flare, and that gets expressed online where the whole world can see.  And if you think you have strong enough privacy settings on your Facebook pages, think again.  It isn’t likely that you have blocked out your children.  Thus, when your  postings go up, and your children see them, serious consequences can follow.

Consider the Best Interests of Your Children

The best practice is to keep your opinions to yourself, and off-line, while the divorce is pending.  Atlanta area Judges have the authority, and will exercise it, to order both parents not to communicate through social media for the protection of the children.   Judges follow the “best interests of the children” standard in making decisions.  Use this to guide anything you post in any online medium.  Ask yourself, “How will this effect my child?” Then, even if you think the posting would be understood as positive by your children, don’t post it for at least twenty-four hours.  Give yourself a chance to think it through and put the best interests of your children first.

© Joy T. Melton, Hindson & Melton LLC    April 24, 2013

• The exclusion amount of $5 million continues in effect but is inflation-adjusted; for 2012 the exclusion amount was $5.12 million and for 2013 it increases to $5.25 million.  If ATRA had not passed, the estate tax exclusion amount for 2013 would have dropped to $1 million, with no inflation adjustment.
• Portability has been enacted as a permanent feature of federal estate tax law.  Portability allows a surviving spouse to utilize the unused portion of the first spouse to die’s gift and estate tax exclusion amount.
• Portability is an election that requires filing a Form 706 estate tax return, even if the estate and gifts of the first spouse are less than the exclusion amount.   As a result, the surviving spouse must weigh the expense and complexity of filing the estate tax return against the likelihood that the second spouse to die will need the unused portion of the first spouse’s gift and estate tax exclusion amount.
• Portability is not indexed for inflation after the year of death.
• The estate tax return must be filed within 9 months after date of death so the portability election is time-sensitive.  It is possible to request a 6 month extension.
• For 2013 and future years, the top tax rate for federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax increases to 40 percent.   Absent ATRA, the estate tax rate for 2013 would have jumped to 55 percent with no portability feature.
• Some couples think that portability will fully address their estate tax planning concerns.  However, portability does not offer any creditor protection, and the surviving spouse might select beneficiaries that the first spouse did not intend after the death of the first spouse.  Traditional estate planning tools such as credit shelter trusts continue to offer safeguards that are desirable to some clients.
• State estate tax and inheritance tax laws vary widely and must be considered in estate planning.  As states seek additional revenues, expect creativity on this front.  A limited number  of states currently give domestic partners tax parity with surviving spouses.
• The annual gift tax exclusion amount has been $13,000; for 2013 it increases to $14,000 per donee ($28,000 if gift-splitting).

While the rules and the tools change from year to year, the fundamental importance of estate planning has not changed.  Work with a qualified estate planning attorney to clarify your estate planning objectives and implement a plan appropriate to your family and assets.  Hindson & Melton LLC serves clients in Georgia and South Carolina, including Atlanta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Charleston, and surrounding communities.

© Karen S. Hindson, Hindson & Melton LLC, March 23, 2013

A child support or child custody modification action has traditionally been filed in the county of the current residence of the Defendant.  Contempt of court actions have been filed in the county that granted the original divorce, the theory being that the Court that entered the original order was the only court that had jurisdiction to decide whether to hold a party in contempt for failure to comply.

For some years, there has been an exception to the normal rule, permitting a Defendant to file a “counterclaim” for contempt along with the answer to a modification action.  The Ford v. Hanna case announces the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the Petitioner can now combine a modification action and a contempt action together in the same Petition.  The proper county for filing the action is the county of the Defendant’s residence, in order that the Court will have personal jurisdiction over the Defendant.

Thus, for example, if a parent needs to petition the Court to modify custody and change the visitation schedule, and the Defendant also has failed to abide by the Court’s original order to pay child support or medical expenses, both the modification and contempt actions can be combined in a single action filed by Petitioner in the Defendant’s county of residence.

Hindson & Melton LLC can assist you in evaluating your Georgia child custody, child support, and modification questions.  We will help you formulate a course of action appropriate to your situation.  Our offices are convenient to metro north Atlanta and Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, and Marietta, and we accept cases throughout the extended metro Atlanta area.

© Karen S. Hindson, Hindson & Melton LLC, March 11, 2013

• Have there been signficant changes in your assets or your family situation since you signed your Last Will and Testament?
• Are the persons you named as Executor, Guardian for your children, or Trustee still alive and good choices to serve in these roles?
• If you named Co-Executors, do they get along well or is there likely to be conflict?
• Does your Will reference a personal property memorandum and if so, have you prepared one?  Where is it?
• Where do you keep your original Will, who knows where it is, and do you have confidence that it would be found and honored if you die?
• Do the terms of your Will coordinate well with your “non probate” assets – such as jointly titled properties, TOD  (transfer on death) or POD (pay on death) accounts or assets, life insurance policies, annuities, IRAs, and 401(k) accounts?
• Do you understand what would happen to each asset in the event of your death?  Have you confirmed that your understanding is correct?
• Do you have step-children and have your wishes regarding them been clearly spelled out in your Will?
• If you are named in your parents’ planning documents, are their documents current?
• If you own a business or part of a business, what happens in the event of your death?  Is this determined by your Will or are there business documents that govern?
• Do you own assets that your heirs or Executor would not know how to handle, such as a valuable collection of personal property items?
• How old are your estate planning documents, and were they prepared by a qualified professional?

Estate Planning Checkup - Powers of Attorney

• Do you have either a health care power of attorney or an advance directive for health care?  Are the health care agents you named still alive and good choices?
• Does your health care agent have a copy of your health care POA or advance directive?
• Do you have a durable financial power of attorney?  Does your financial power of attorney become effective only if you are incapcitated?  Is the agent still alive and a good choice?  Should you name an alternate agent?
• Do you have an old power of attorney that needs to be revoked?
• Do your parents have powers of attorney that are appropriate in light of their health, assets, and family issues?

Estate Planning Checkup – Trusts

• If you have a trust, do you understand the purpose of the trust?
• Has your trust been funded or have properties been transferred to the trust as you intended?
• Do you know what is owned by your trust?
• Are there changes that need to be made in the Trustee or other trust terms?

Estate Planning Checkup - Beneficiary designations

• When is the last time you checked your employer’s records, life insurance, and retirement investment accounts to see who your named beneficiaries are?
• Are your beneficiary designations coordinated with your Last Will and Testament and other planning documents?
• Do you have copies of the beneficiary designations or printouts in a notebook?

Estate Planning Checkup – Accounts and passwords

• Do you have online accounts for which you do not receive paper statements?
• Do  have a complete and current list of accounts, log-ins, and passwords in case of your death or incapacity?  Where is this list and who knows about it?
• Are there business accounts that someone would need to access in the event of your death or incapacity?

Estate Planning Checkup - Insurance

• If you have disability, long term care, or life insurance, do you have a copy of each policy, and does your family know where they are?  Do they understand what would be required to be eligible for benefits?
• Do you have insurance appropriate to your family situation, needs and goals?  Do you understand the policies you have?

In Conclusion

This checkup is not a complete list of questions; it is intended to stimulate your thoughts about your situation and your personal estate plan.  Every individual has specific concerns based on his or her life choices, family relationships, and assets.    Contact the attorneys of  Hindson & Melton LLC or another qualified estate planning firm to create, review, or update your estate plan.  Hindson & Melton LLC serves Metropolitan Atlanta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and Alpharetta Georgia, as well as Charleston, South Carolina.

© Karen S. Hindson, Hindson & Melton LLC, February 28, 2013

Hindson & Melton Atlanta Office - North Terraces Bldg

DIRECTIONS TO: 400 Perimeter Center Terrace, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA 30346 – LOCATED IN PERIMETER CENTER DISTRICT, ONE BLOCK NORTH OF PERIMTER MALL OFF OF ASHFORD DUNWOODY ROAD.

From I-285: Take the Ashford Dunwoody Road exit and head north; Perimeter Mall will be on your left.  Go approximately 5 traffic lights from I-285.  Continue north on Ashford Dunwoody Road past McDonald’s and then turn left at the next light into the entrance of the TERRACES North building.  There is a large white entrance sign that says TERRACES North.  There is NOT a street sign that says Perimeter Center Terrace; you simply turn left off of Ashford Dunwoody at the 5th light into the TERRACES North building entrance.  California Pizza Kitchen is right next door to the building.  There is a free parking garage to the right; follow the sign to Visitor parking, which is on level 3 of the garage.  Walk across the wooden bridge into the first floor of the Terraces North building.  Our office is on the 9th floor, Suite 900.

From GA 400: Take Exit 5 towards Dunwoody; this will be Abernathy Road.  Continue going straight on Abernathy, (it will change names to Perimeter Center West) until you get to the Ashford Dunwoody Road traffic light.  Turn left on Ashford Dunwoody and go to the next traffic light and turn left into the entrance of the TERRACES North building.  California Pizza Kitchen is right next door to the building.  Proceed to the free parking garage to the right (North) of the building.  Visitor parking is on level 3, which is the level you drive into. We are in Terraces North, not South.

From downtown Dunwoody: Take Mt Vernon Road to the light at Ashford Dunwoody and turn on to Ashford Dunwoody.  Head down the hill, past PF Changs/McCormicks/Brio, go past Meadow Lane, and turn right at the very next light into the entrance of the TERRACES North building.  Proceed to free parking garage which is on the North side of the building.  We are on the 9th floor of the NORTH TERRACES building, suite 900.