Atlanta Divorce Lawyer Blog

Prior to moving to Atlanta, a little over 10 years ago, I practiced law in New York City. I was an associate at a boutique litigation firm on Madison Avenue, and had my wife not gotten a wonderful job offer here in the South, I would likely still be spending much of my time on the subways and commuting by train. I am absolutely thrilled that we settled in Atlanta, and have continually tried to get friends and family to add our Southern hospitality to their lives. My office is less than two miles from my home and the lifestyle that Atlanta affords my family continues to amaze me.
That being said, after settling a Divorce case today, I was reminded about the most common question I get from former colleagues up north. "Is practicing law, Divorce or otherwise, different in the South?" Now, obviously, their are procedural differences that impact the practice of law. However, what I see as the biggest, and often most frustrating difference, is the slower pace by which matters progress. This might seem strange, in light of the fact that I believe the average case in New York takes much longer to wend its way through the system. No....what I am getting at is the speed with which you actually find out what the other side is looking for and and figuring out if you had any room to discuss settlement, or were issues to be submitted to the Court for a ruling. The case I settled today is a great example. Three days ago I received an counteroffer from the attorney on the other side. We had presented our initial settlement proposal nearly six months ago. The original counter-proposal I received from opposing counsel would have put both clients in a potential financial disaster. We completed financial discovery nearly 4 months ago, and despite numerous discussions and requests for comment on our last offer made in late December, 2008, opposing counsel refused to let us know what his client agreed with and what were points of contention. Finally, I asked the Court to place us on a trial calendar. My client was frustrated, but understood that this was the only way to move the matter along. Two days after I contacted the Court, and three months after we sent out last offer, opposing counsel provided us with a counteroffer, one whose terms almost exactly mirrored the terms of the original settlement agreement that we submitted nearly nine months ago. They agreed with our terms on alimony, child support, visitation. My client will pick up an extra credit card and will be responsible for any shortfall in the value of the home, if ti sells for less than it is worth. Unfortunately, the house has lost value since the time of the original settlement proposal. Had they agreed at the onset, it probably would have let the parties cash out of their home with some equity and not cost them over $20,000 in legal fees.
I have seen this progression all to often, since moving to Atlanta. The attorney on the other side was a good lawyer, effectively argued his client's position and was a pleasure to deal with. He just let us move the case along at a snail's pace. This is in no one's interest.

Alimony--Using Craigslist to get out of paying?

Man offers to pay for someone to marry ex-wife

Imagine sitting at your computer and you are browsing the classified ads on Craiglist and suddenly you come across the following ad:

Nice well taken care of ex-wife. Mid 40's. Pretty and loyal. Never smoked and very little drinking. Will make someone a good companion (I know).... Will pay 10K to the man or woman who marries her in a way that stops me from having to pay her alimony.

There's the hitch. The man, trying to end his alimony payments to his ex-wife, is offering to pay a potential suitor to marry his ex-wife. Not being totally callous, the guy actually had some "terms and conditions" for this transaction.

* 1. This transaction offer only valid if she is not aware of it.

* 2. Must treat her good, no abuse tolerated by me.

* 3. This offer is null and void if it is determined to be illegal in any way -- I am not a lawyer.

* 4. The end result must be that I am no longer liable to her for alimony and you make best effort to be good to her.

* 5. This ad is not in any way intended to demean my ex-wife. She is a nice person and is a fine catch for anyone.

OOPS. I think the cat's out of the bag on condition #1. With news of the post hitting newspapers, she or some friends might find out. He might also have a problem with condition #3. At least he did not want to "demean" his ex-wife in any way--what a guy.

In Mississippi, if you are paying alimony to your ex, don't use this tactic to end the alimony. Not only will it fall flat in front of the judge, but you can be assured your ex will not find the humor in being marketed on Craigslist.

SOURCE: Mississippi Family Law Blog

More and more we are hearing about how the crumbling economy is effecting people's choice, or even ability, to proceed with divorce. A recent example in the local Atlanta media follows:

Economic downturn affects marriage, families

By Brenda Pedraza-Vidamour

The Times-Herald

The impact of the worsening economy doesn't end with housing, banking or the stock market -- some marriages are also suffering.

Fights over money, sex and children are what typically tear most couples apart, according to experts. But it's still too early to tell whether today's economic times are also driving couples to divorce.

While foreclosures in Coweta County increased 44 percent and bankruptcies climbed 38 percent over the last year, divorces rose 9 percent for the same period.

What is clear is that today's tough times are affecting how divorces are being handled.

"No one wants the house now," said Diane Sternlieb, a Carrollton divorce attorney who also practices in Coweta. "Before we were fighting to keep the house. Now we're fighting where no one wants the house. It's like the forbidden asset."

Sternlieb said couples considering divorce are trying different strategies to avoid being saddled with debt, whether it's the mortgage or child support.

"I have more really, really awful custody battles," she said. "I think it's the stress hitting everyone. More people are laid off [from their jobs]. They're not able to pay child support."

Clients refuse to take the house or resign themselves to a short sale, in which the house is sold for less than what's owed on it.

"If one person is more apt to be able to refinance the house, then that person will take it and the other will forego any [gain] and walk away. Or sometimes they both walk away and malign their credit."

While Sternlieb's office has been "slammed busy" with more divorce cases, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers reported to USA Today last month that it's seeing divorce rates fall. Overall, 37 percent of its members said they saw a decrease in divorce cases and 19 percent cited an increase, according to the organization's November report.

Reports across the country are noting people are either postponing divorce because they can't afford it; divorcing anyway, but not taking the house; divorcing anyway, but continuing to live together; or are trying to divorce, but find that a delayed house sale or other recession-related cause has protracted the process. Courts have also seen an increase in the number of "pro se plaintiffs."

"Clients aren't hiring anybody. They're doing it themselves," Sternlieb says, which has also postponed some divorces because the couples run into difficulties processing court-required information.

In a recent report, ABC News' "Good Morning, America" talked about how the economy is now forcing divorced couples to live together, citing Florida divorce attorney Carin Constantine, who recalled a case in which "the judge put an order in stating what days they were allowed to use the kitchen, and who got to use the living room, who got to use the television."

Sternlieb said her own daughter, against her advice, is considering a divorced-but-living-together arrangement with her estranged husband in Texas.

"They can't afford to live separately. They can't afford separate residences. More and more people, this is what they're doing, and this is awful because they're roommates now with their ex-spouse," she said.

Sternlieb says the arrangement creates joint physical custody issues and makes it harder for the children.

"It's confusing for the children and when one of them moves out, it's a real hard thing to go to a judge and say I want to be the primary custodian," she said.

"The economic crisis is almost creating a split in physical custody," she added. "People aren't able to afford daycare so that's where a lot of the joint physical custody is coming in. A lot of dads are out of work so it's 'I'll watch the baby during the day... Well, if he watches the baby, he must be able to handle physical custody."

Even when couples are successful in finalizing their divorce, resolving the custody issues and able to move into separate households and manage it all amicably, the recession has made it so much more difficult for them to move on.

Georgia State University sociologist Elisabeth Sheff and her ex shared those experiences with Dana Goldman on a recent 90.1-FM WABE news segment. The couple watched as their savings depleted as her ex, a former sociologist and stay-at-home father, continues to struggle to reenter a workforce that's suffering from a high unemployment rate. Sheff, who sees one-third of her take-home pay go toward child support, didn't imagine that their friendly divorce would still leave them exposed to the same dire consequences as other divorcing couples, because of the recession.

"I didn't anticipate over a year later being in this one-bedroom apartment," she said. "I'm not making it. To tell you the truth, I just don't know what to do."

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Recession's impact on marriage

Month ('07) Divorces•Bankruptcies•Foreclosures

Jan - 46 • 35 • 94

Feb - 48 • 47 • 94

March - 57 • 73 • 87

April - 46 • 48 • 91

May - 47 • 39 • 71

June - 55 • 51 • 79

July - 55 • 45 • 70

Aug - 62 • 59 • 112

Sept - 33 • 52 • 109

Oct - 65 • 58 • 130

Nov - 53 • 52 • 116

Dec - 30 • 53 • 118

Total - 597 • 612 • 1,171

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Month ('08) Divorces•Bankruptcies•Foreclosures

Jan - 44 • 56 • 156

Feb - 55 • 61 • 123

March - 52 • 61 • 128

April - 53 • 68 • 145

May - 55 • 56 • 128

June - 65 • 65 • 125

July - 45 • 63 • 136

Aug - 62 • 80 • 137

Sept - 57 • 82 • 177

Oct - 64 • 93 • 142

Nov - 45 • 67 • 166

Dec - 51 • 92 • 126

Total - 648•844•1,689

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The statistics listed include court filings from Jan. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2008.

The divorce filings include annulments and open and closed cases. Source: Coweta County Superior Court.

The bankruptcy filings include open and closed cases and business and nonbusiness filings. Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia.

The foreclosure filings include commercial and residential real estate. Source: Legal advertising statistics from The Times-Herald, the official legal publication for Coweta County.

-- Compiled by Brenda Pedraza-Vidamour