News Update

Effective Sept 17, 2009

24.2. Financial data required; scheduling and notice of temporary hearing.
Except as noted below, at least fifteen (15) days before any temporary or final hearing in any action for temporary or permanent child support, alimony, equitable division of property, modification of child support or alimony or attorneys fees, the party requesting such hearing shall file with the Clerk of Court and serve upon the opposing party the affidavit specifying his or her financial circumstances in the form set forth herein.  In cases involving child support, the worksheet and schedules required by O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15  and only as promulgated by the Georgia Child Support Commission,shall be completed insofar as possible and filed with the clerk  and shall be served upon the opposing party contemporaneously with the filing of the affidavit required above.  Online submission of the worksheet and schedules shall not suffice as filing with the Clerk of Court.
In emergency actions, the affidavit, worksheet and schedules may be filed and served on or before the date of the hearing or at such other time as the Court orders, and shall not be required at the time of filing of the action. 
In cases filed with complete separation agreements or consent orders resolving all issues but the issue of divorce, the parties are not required to file financial affidavits, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.  In cases involving child support the parties must attach to the proposed final judgment a completed worksheet and Schedule E, whether Schedule E applies or not.  In addition, the separation agreement must include the parties' gross and adjusted incomes.  The remaining applicable schedules shall be filed with the Clerk at the time of filing the uncontested action.
The Office of Child Support Services is exempt from filing financial affidavits.
Notice of the date of any temporary hearing shall be served upon the adverse party at least 15 days before the date of the hearing, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
Within five (5) days of service of the affidavit and worksheet and schedules (where applicable) unless the court shortens or enlarges the time, the opposing party shall file with the Clerk and serve upon the other party the affidavit specifying his or her financial circumstances in the form set forth herein and the worksheet and schedules,completed insofar as possible:  
The parties shall file with the clerk and serve upon each other the affidavit and worksheet and schedules (where applicable) at least ten (10) days prior to any court-ordered mediation or other alternative dispute resolution proceeding.
In any case in which a party has previously filed and served the affidavit, worksheet and schedules and thereafter amends the affidavit or worksheet and schedules, any such amendments shall be served upon the opposing party at least 10 days prior to final hearing or trial and shall be filed with the Clerk of Court at or before trial.
On the request of either party, and upon good cause shown to the Court, the affidavits, worksheets, schedules, and any other financial information may be sealed, upon order of the Court.
No social security numbers or account numbers shall be included in any document filed with the Court pursuant to this rule.  Each account shall be specified by financial institution and a partial account number.  No party shall be required to include full account numbers.
Failure of any party to furnish the above financial information, in the discretion of the Court, may subject the offending party to the penalties of contempt and may result in continuance of the hearing until such time as the required financial information is furnished or such other sanctions or remedies deemed appropriate in the Court's discretion.
Notwithstanding the time limits contained in this rule, the court may decide a matter without strict adherence to a time limitation, if the financial information was known or reasonably available to the other party, or if a continuance would result in a manifest injustice to a party.
The affidavit shall be under oath and in substantially the following form:
(Please note that the Financial Affidavit has been omitted from this publication, though it is part of Rule 24.2, as no changes are proposed to the Financial Affidavit at this time.)
 
Effective Sept. 1, 2009

To: Family Law Section of the State Bar

From: Jill O. Radwin, Staff Attorney, Child Support Commission

Date: 9/1/2009

Re: Low Income Deviation Section of the Worksheet and Data Entry Form

Family Law Section Members,

In advance of the low income deviation provision of 19-6-15(i) going into effect on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, I wanted to send you a memo regarding how to use the new low income deviation section of Schedule E or the Data Entry Form. In trying to be compliant with the wording of the statute, and in particular the minimum order requirements, we found some interesting results which we had not previously anticipated. I have tried to outline the basics and some of these possible unexpected results. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me at radwinj@gaaoc.us.
Below is how the Low Income Deviation Section will appear on Schedule E and Section E of the Data Entry Form. It was designed with the assistance of the Electronic Worksheet Task Force. One member pointed out that we should provide some type of guidance as to whether the court's or the parties' deviation amount would be less than the minimum order amount (as set forth under the new low income deviation provision). If so, then the deviation amount would change to ensure that the minimum order amount was met.
Below is an example of the low income deviation provision of Schedule E (standard Excel version) without any dollar amounts entered. Also, note that the opt-in for the deviation must be checked in order for the calculation to occur and to appear on Line 10 and Line 13 of the Worksheet. As a reminder, the low income deviation, as with all of the other deviations, are discretionary. The court or the parties will have to opt-in, in order for the low income deviation to calculate.

Please click here for the entire document.