In this video, I will be discussing the topic of international divorce, child custody, and passport issues. Family law issues frequently cross state and even international boundaries. We have handled cases involving the following countries: South Africa, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Germany, Great Britain, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Canada, China, Mexico, Peru, Russia, France, and probably a few other countries that I do not even recall. These cases create some very complex jurisdictional and international procedural questions.
Are foreign international divorces and custody orders enforceable in the United States even if there is no treaty with the country? To answer your question, in general, no matter which country you are from, as long as you reside in the state of Georgia for six months you can get a divorce in the state of Georgia. Your spouse does not have to consent to the divorce. Your spouse does not even have to come to the state of Georgia. With or without his or her cooperation you can get the divorce. And in most countries in the world the divorce will be legally binding on both of you.
There are sometimes special issues dealing with Muslim divorces being recognized in certain parts of the Middle East that we can discuss with you, but, in general, a divorce in the United States will be recognized abroad. Likewise, if your children have lived in the United States for at least six months and call Georgia home we can probably get a custody order in the state of Georgia that would be legally enforceable in most countries in the rest of the world. One common issue is whether or not a child may travel internationally after the case. The issue is twofold.
Will I be able to travel internationally with my child even if the other parent does not consent? Or two: Will I be able to prevent the other parent from taking the child out of the country without my consent?The court may not have the power to force a parent to cooperate with obtaining a passport, but the court does have the power to issue an order that allows one parent – without the consent of the other parent – to obtain a passport.
What this means from a practical perspective is you need to resolve any passport issues that may exist in your case with an appropriate court order. You cannot wait and rely on the other parent to cooperate with you after a child’s passport expires. International Family Law issues are becoming more and more common and it should not be so difficult to find a good lawyer to deal with these.
By: Scott Shaw
In this video, I will be discussing the topic of international divorce, child custody, and passport issues. Family law issues frequently cross state and even international boundaries. We have handled cases involving the following countries: South Africa, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Germany, Great Britain, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Canada, China, Mexico, Peru, Russia, France, and probably a few other countries that I do not even recall. These cases create some very complex jurisdictional and international procedural questions.
Are foreign international divorces and custody orders enforceable in the United States even if there is no treaty with the country? To answer your question, in general, no matter which country you are from, as long as you reside in the state of Georgia for six months you can get a divorce in the state of Georgia. Your spouse does not have to consent to the divorce. Your spouse does not even have to come to the state of Georgia. With or without his or her cooperation you can get the divorce. And in most countries in the world the divorce will be legally binding on both of you.
There are sometimes special issues dealing with Muslim divorces being recognized in certain parts of the Middle East that we can discuss with you, but, in general, a divorce in the United States will be recognized abroad. Likewise, if your children have lived in the United States for at least six months and call Georgia home we can probably get a custody order in the state of Georgia that would be legally enforceable in most countries in the rest of the world. One common issue is whether or not a child may travel internationally after the case. The issue is twofold.
Will I be able to travel internationally with my child even if the other parent does not consent? Or two: Will I be able to prevent the other parent from taking the child out of the country without my consent?The court may not have the power to force a parent to cooperate with obtaining a passport, but the court does have the power to issue an order that allows one parent – without the consent of the other parent – to obtain a passport.
What this means from a practical perspective is you need to resolve any passport issues that may exist in your case with an appropriate court order. You cannot wait and rely on the other parent to cooperate with you after a child’s passport expires. International Family Law issues are becoming more and more common and it should not be so difficult to find a good lawyer to deal with these.
By: Scott Shaw
Probably the next most common question I’m asked about equitable distribution is how do you handle 401ks, IRAs, and other retirement accounts? Well one thing to know is if you have a 401k account, it is subject to be divided during divorce at least the marital portion of it, and it can be divided tax free through what’s called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or a QDRO.
IRAs on the other hand can be divided tax free again, but you don’t need a QDRO to do it. You can do it administratively and normally through whatever brokerage account holds your IRA account. Other pension plans say like a fixed benefit plan where you get a certain amount per year after you retire, those two are subject to be divided once you determine what the marital portion is, and usually those are divided again through a QDRO that is called the same thing but it’s a bit different than a QDRO used to divide a 401k. All these assets can be divided tax free in a divorce.
Probably the biggest issue is just determining what the marital portion of these accounts are. Do not assume just because you don’t have a 401k that your spouse does not because you have an equitable interest in any 401k amounts of money accumulated during the marriage.
By: Scott Shaw
Probably the next most common question I’m asked about equitable distribution is how do you handle 401ks, IRAs, and other retirement accounts? Well one thing to know is if you have a 401k account, it is subject to be divided during divorce at least the marital portion of it, and it can be divided tax free through what’s called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or a QDRO.
IRAs on the other hand can be divided tax free again, but you don’t need a QDRO to do it. You can do it administratively and normally through whatever brokerage account holds your IRA account. Other pension plans say like a fixed benefit plan where you get a certain amount per year after you retire, those two are subject to be divided once you determine what the marital portion is, and usually those are divided again through a QDRO that is called the same thing but it’s a bit different than a QDRO used to divide a 401k. All these assets can be divided tax free in a divorce.
Probably the biggest issue is just determining what the marital portion of these accounts are. Do not assume just because you don’t have a 401k that your spouse does not because you have an equitable interest in any 401k amounts of money accumulated during the marriage.
By: Scott Shaw
You begin your divorce by contacting a good attorney who knows what they are doing, and your attorney will consult with you, advise you whether you should even get a divorce, talk about the relevant issues you have to deal with, whether now is even a good time to file, what sort of planning you need to do, and the attorney will instruct you how to proceed forward.
By: Scott Shaw
You begin your divorce by contacting a good attorney who knows what they are doing, and your attorney will consult with you, advise you whether you should even get a divorce, talk about the relevant issues you have to deal with, whether now is even a good time to file, what sort of planning you need to do, and the attorney will instruct you how to proceed forward.
By: Scott Shaw
Temporary orders take effect during a divorce at the time the judge signs them and enters them with the clerk of court. It’s that simple. Once the order is signed, it gets entered with the clerk of court, there’s a file stamp date on it, the order is good and valid until either the divorce is dismissed, or a new order takes its place.
By: Scott Shaw
Temporary orders take effect during a divorce at the time the judge signs them and enters them with the clerk of court. It’s that simple. Once the order is signed, it gets entered with the clerk of court, there’s a file stamp date on it, the order is good and valid until either the divorce is dismissed, or a new order takes its place.
By: Scott Shaw
Georgia is an equitable division of property state and not a community property state. What that means is assets are not necessarily divided 50-50 between the parties. There are a lot of factors that go into the case. In the right case, you can argue that one party should get more than half of the assets. In most cases, in the end, once you’re able to ascertain what the assets are and put a valuation on them, the assets will generally be divided 50-50 between the parties.
By: Scott Shaw
Georgia is an equitable division of property state and not a community property state. What that means is assets are not necessarily divided 50-50 between the parties. There are a lot of factors that go into the case. In the right case, you can argue that one party should get more than half of the assets. In most cases, in the end, once you’re able to ascertain what the assets are and put a valuation on them, the assets will generally be divided 50-50 between the parties.
By: Scott Shaw
In a divorce in Georgia, an issue that often comes up is how do you divide a military pension? Under federal law, a military pension is considered to be marital property in a divorce. Now the entirety of the military pension may not be marital, but the portion that you earn during the marriage is subject to be divided in the state of Georgia.
So one of the first challenges you have is to ascertain what portion of your military pension is going to be marital property and subject to division and what portion is not, and therefore you’ll get to keep without dividing it with your spouse, and this is not an issue. It’s just any attorney can figure out for you.
It’s often mistakes are often made on it. Another misconception for military pensions is people often think that you have to be in the military for ten years in order for a pension to be divided, but that’s not true. The ten year rule only applies to how long you have to be married if you want the military to garnish your share of the pension.
If you’re married for less than ten years, the pension is still subject to be divided. You just have to get it paid directly from the spouse who receives the military pension. Military pensions are a frequent issue in divorce. Shaw Law Firm has handled many of these. If you have any questions, we’d be happy to take your telephone calls or inquiries. Thank you.
By: Scott Shaw
In a divorce in Georgia, an issue that often comes up is how do you divide a military pension? Under federal law, a military pension is considered to be marital property in a divorce. Now the entirety of the military pension may not be marital, but the portion that you earn during the marriage is subject to be divided in the state of Georgia.
So one of the first challenges you have is to ascertain what portion of your military pension is going to be marital property and subject to division and what portion is not, and therefore you’ll get to keep without dividing it with your spouse, and this is not an issue. It’s just any attorney can figure out for you.
It’s often mistakes are often made on it. Another misconception for military pensions is people often think that you have to be in the military for ten years in order for a pension to be divided, but that’s not true. The ten year rule only applies to how long you have to be married if you want the military to garnish your share of the pension.
If you’re married for less than ten years, the pension is still subject to be divided. You just have to get it paid directly from the spouse who receives the military pension. Military pensions are a frequent issue in divorce. Shaw Law Firm has handled many of these. If you have any questions, we’d be happy to take your telephone calls or inquiries. Thank you.
By: Scott Shaw
Well, that depends. If you have an uncontested divorce in which all issues are settled, or if you have a case and were able to reach a settlement before the need to go to court, then you will not need to go to court except for maybe five minutes to take a routine final. But if there are contested issues in the divorce, yes, you will need to go to court.
You will testify, and other people may testify on your behalf. It just depends on the case. So you will need to expect to testify, but any good attorney will prep you for your testimony, and most of our clients do very well on the stand. The one thing to keep in mind is you need to tell the truth because not telling the truth can often be more harmful than telling the truth. But other than that, you will be prepped and prepared to testify.
By: Scott Shaw
Well, that depends. If you have an uncontested divorce in which all issues are settled, or if you have a case and were able to reach a settlement before the need to go to court, then you will not need to go to court except for maybe five minutes to take a routine final. But if there are contested issues in the divorce, yes, you will need to go to court.
You will testify, and other people may testify on your behalf. It just depends on the case. So you will need to expect to testify, but any good attorney will prep you for your testimony, and most of our clients do very well on the stand. The one thing to keep in mind is you need to tell the truth because not telling the truth can often be more harmful than telling the truth. But other than that, you will be prepped and prepared to testify.
By: Scott Shaw
In a divorce, retirement funds may or may not be marital assets, and that’s a complicated issue. But generally speaking, if you earned the retirement asset while you were married it will be marital property, and, therefore, it will be subject to division under equitable distribution. 401K accounts through a process called a QDRO – Qualified Domestic Relations Order – can be transferred tax-free to the other spouse so you don’t have to worry about tax consequences.
Fixed benefit pensions can also be transferred through a qualified domestic relations order of a different type, and can be transferred tax-free. Military pensions can also be transferred. Now, military pensions and federal pensions have their own unique aspects to them, but they can all be divided in a divorce. So, generally speaking, if the retirement funds are considered marital property, they are subject to division in a divorce.
In a divorce, retirement funds may or may not be marital assets, and that’s a complicated issue. But generally speaking, if you earned the retirement asset while you were married it will be marital property, and, therefore, it will be subject to division under equitable distribution. 401K accounts through a process called a QDRO – Qualified Domestic Relations Order – can be transferred tax-free to the other spouse so you don’t have to worry about tax consequences.
Fixed benefit pensions can also be transferred through a qualified domestic relations order of a different type, and can be transferred tax-free. Military pensions can also be transferred. Now, military pensions and federal pensions have their own unique aspects to them, but they can all be divided in a divorce. So, generally speaking, if the retirement funds are considered marital property, they are subject to division in a divorce.
The answer is no. The court offers mediation services and many counties require mediation of a case, not all counties. For example, Gwinnett country won’t require you to mediate, but they do encourage it. And other counties like county require mediation. But in regards to marriage counseling and trying to patch the marriage up, that’s something we can agree to. We can even get the court to sign an order that the parties will try to go to marriage counseling, but the court will not offer such a service to you.
By: Scott Shaw
The answer is no. The court offers mediation services and many counties require mediation of a case, not all counties. For example, Gwinnett country won’t require you to mediate, but they do encourage it. And other counties like county require mediation. But in regards to marriage counseling and trying to patch the marriage up, that’s something we can agree to. We can even get the court to sign an order that the parties will try to go to marriage counseling, but the court will not offer such a service to you.
By: Scott Shaw
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