Regina Irene Edwards's Answers

I filed a petition for legitimation, custody and visitation. Should I submit a parenting plan prior to our court date?

Not only should you submit a parenting plan before court, the law requires you to. You also need to submit other documents as well. It would probably be best for you to hire an attorney who specializes in family law matters. As you are no doubt aware by now, you have no rights to your child prior to the legitimation. This means, if your paperwork is incorrect or incomplete when you go to court, the judge can continue the case to another day. That will mean that your child may not get to...

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I am father of 2 year old, not married to his mom. How do I get physical custody?

You need to file a legitimation case YESTERDAY. You have no rights. At any point, she can take your child and move away, because you are not the legal father. You need to file and get her served, to preserve the status qup, which is him living with you. Document everything that is going on. Assume she will lie about everything. She will not want you to have formal custody because she will not want to pay you child support. Gather witnesses who have seen how often he is with you. This is...

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I have no money or income and my ex- husband is in Non compliance of the divorce decree, what can i do?

Do not sign anything. If he is in contempt of a Georgia Order, file a contempt action in the county where your divorce was finalized. Fulton County has great sample forms and instructions that can tell you how to file. This is the webs address. http://sca.fultoncourt.org/family/forms.php You would need to change Fulton on the paperwork to whatever county you are filing in.

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Do I need a lawyer if a petition is being file for child custody

This is not a simple answer to a complicated question. The judge has the discretion of ordering both parents to pay for cost of transportation, or just one. If just one is paying, that is usually accounted for somehow in the child support obligation. Georgia has an income shares model for determining child support. Both parties' incomes are included, as well as expenses for the child, as well as possible deviations, such as the money that a parent has to spend in order to exercise parenting...

The father of my child is behind in child support and has always been. He chooses to sign over parental rights.

If the father signs away his parental rights, that does not require an adoption. However, it is not guaranteed. The court would have to approve a father waiving his rights to his child. Also, grandparents can ask for visitation, but they have to go through the courts. Georgia law allows grandparents to seek visitation rights. The court may grant visitation rights to the grandparent if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that (1) the health and/or welfare of the children...

I provide medical coverage for my 2 children. If my ex-wife disagrees with my choice of doctors, what process takes place ?

If she has final decision- making authority on the medical issues, she has the final say regarding the doctors. She cannot make chances to the coverage, but if she prefers another doctor within your network, then she can select that doctor. It is strange that the primary custodian was not awarded the final decision making authority. I was not present at your trial to know if that was the actual order, or if it was a mistake. For now, you should discuss your choice of doctors within your...

How to retrieve money from a lawyer

You can also try to use the fee arbitration process

Can my son's father just sign over his rights and be done with everything?

The short answer is, he can sign away his rights, but a judge has to approve it. That is not likely to happen. You can file a contempt action and have him incarcerated if he insists on not paying child support.

What do I need to get custody of my 2 nieces?

The short answer is, you will have to sue your sister. You will also have to sue the fathers of the children. A judge can award custody to a 3rd party upon a showing of unfitness by their mother.

According to Georgia law, am I required to file for a legal separation before I move out with my children?

I agree with Mr. Anderson. Although legally you may move out. If you do so and then deny visitation to the other parent, that will not help you in a custody case. If domestic violence is an issue, then you should move and then immediately file for divorce. If not, file for divorce, and then the judge can allow you to move, while setting up a visitation schedule for the other parent.