AAL_ATL_#6_P3

Rachel Elovitz
Gillian Fierer O’Nan
Bill Adler Photography
Bill Adler Photography
parties grieve. It can be akin to a death, particularly for those who
do not want the divorce. Assets become his or hers, no longer theirs.
Children have to transition from single, two-parent households to
two, single parent homes. Extended family members and friends are
sometimes asked to take sides. Marital homes in which children have
been raised sometimes have to be sold. It is a difficult transition in the
best of cases, for the parties and their children. In our firm, we do not
define success as winning. We define success as a thriving practice,
satisfied clients, and being fortunate to have a brain trust of colleagues
with whom we genuinely enjoy practicing law.
AALM: What are some of the biggest changes you see in family law,
and what do these changes mean for the way you practice?
Elovitz: Custody evaluations are being used with increasing frequency,
particularly in cases involving allegations of child abuse/neglect,
parental alienation, substance abuse, and cases in which a parent
suffers from a personality disorder that has impacted his or her
ability to make sound parenting choices. These evaluations are generally
very helpful in getting cases resolved in a way that fosters the
psychological well-being of the children at issue (and their parents).
We are seeing more and more children born out of wedlock who
need to be legitimated. Georgia now has administrative legitimation,
whereby a petition does not need to be filed with the Superior Court
for a child to be able to inherit from his/her father and vice versa – or
for father to be able to serve as a placement resource if the child were
found to be dependent. However, the father of a child born out of
wedlock – even if he has legitimated the child – must still petition the
court to obtain an award of custody or parenting time.
We have seen an upsurge in fathers fighting for custody – and in the
courts awarding custody to fathers. There is no shortage of reasons for
this change. The “tender years” doctrine was long ago abolished. The
law no longer presumes that a mother or father is better equipped to
raise a child. More mothers are in the workforce and fathers are more
meaningfully engaged in their children’s daily lives. They desperately
want to be more than a child support check, and have been empowered
by the court’s increasing recognition of the importance of children having
a secure attachment and meaningful access to both parents.
We’ve also seen a continuing erosion in what constitutes one’s separate
property. The court has found with increasing frequency that
separate property has been transmuted by, for example, being comingled
with marital assets or by being gifted to the other party or to
the marriage. This reality impacts our discussions with our clients. We
want them to have realistic expectations, including any possible determination
by the court that separate property has been transmuted
and is subject to equitable division.
O’Nan: Technology has affected family law like any other practice
area. People record everything on their phones; we can capture
We believe that as family law attorneys, we are charged with an
enormous responsibility to our clients, as they are ensconced in turmoil
and conflict; it is our job to guide them through that discord ...
Volume 4 Issue 6 Attorney at Law Magazine ® Metro Atlanta | 11