Legal Help With Family Law Matters in Augusta

Military Divorce

We are very familiar with the unique family law issues and laws that military service members and their spouses often encounter, including:

• Calculating military retirement benefits & divorce
• Dividing the value of thrift savings accounts, military pensions and other benefits in accordance with the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA)
• Ensuring child support reflects the BAH and BAS income of the military service member as well as any language pay or other additional income
• Understanding how the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act, 50 USC Section 521, impacts divorce filings
• Developing parenting plans that account for one parent’s deployment, family care plans and rights of family members during a parent’s deployment

Mr. Brown is well-known at the JAG attorney’s office at the Fort Gordon military base and can accommodate out-of-state and international military personnel.

Child Custody

Custody actually comes in two forms: physical and legal. Physical custody dictates where the child will live. If the judge orders primary physical custody, it means that the children will spend the majority of their time at your house. If you are awarded sole physical custody, the child will live exclusively with you.

Legal custody refers to who gets to make the important decisions on behalf of the child. If the judge orders shared legal custody, it means that both you and the other parent will have the right to make decisions in regard to education, religious upbringing, nonemergency health care and extra-curricular activities. However, the primary physical parent will usually have final decision-making authority if there are any disagreements.

A parenting plan goes hand in hand with a custody agreement. The parenting plan spells out the details, and we can help you craft one that meets your particular needs.

Mediation

Not all divorces and custody disputes need to be resolved in the courtroom. Many times, mediation is a better choice. Mr. Brown is a skilled mediator certified by the state in civil and domestic mediation. Mediation is typically ordered by the court before a final hearing can be granted and is successful in resolving divorce disputes in more than 85 percent of cases.

Domestic Violence

We often work with victims of domestic violence, helping them obtain temporary protective orders (TPOs). Mr. Brown serves on the board of Safe Homes of Augusta, the local domestic violence shelter.

Child Support

You’re probably aware that child support payments are calculated according to a mathematical formula. However, there are sometimes exceptions to the rule. If your child has special financial needs, it may be possible to deviate from the standard amount. We can explain what to expect and make sure that all information is accurately calculated to ensure the child support ordered by the court is correct.

Legitimation/Paternity

If you are a father who is not married to your child’s mother, you will have to go through the legitimation process in order to gain custody rights or parenting time. If you are the mother, you will need to legally establish the father of the child in order to obtain child support payments. Legitimation also provides many other benefits.

Adoption

Let us guide you through the complexities of the adoption process. Our lawyer will file the adoption petition for you, appear with you at the hearing before the judge and address other pertinent issues such as terminating the biological parents’ rights.

Call Alex M. Brown Law, LLC, at (706) 397-5088 to set up a consultation. You can also reach our Georgia law firm online.