Evans Georgia Legal Blog

Georgia election marred by accusation of spousal spat

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in Divorce on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Have you ever noticed that people tell you to remain calm at all the wrong times? Sometimes, a request to smooth a mood is all we need to unleash on someone. However, if you're going through a divorce or even an argument with a spouse, you should actually remain calm no matter who tells you it's a good idea.

Emotions are always involved in divorces and separation, and many of them are hard to contain. But you always have a lot of reasons to not let them control you. If you have children, there's a big one right there. Children thrive in calm environments and tend to mirror their parents' adult traits. How do we expect kids to be calm when their parents cannot be?

3 suffer injuries in 2-truck wreck on 2-lane road

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in truck wrecks on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Truck accidents can have a significant, and immediate, impact on those involved. If someone is hurt or killed, their family, as well as the others involved in the incident, all have to live with what happened.

Fortunately, many truck crashes are preventable. All drivers need to do is to have good training, to pay attention to the road, to get enough sleep and to know when they need to pull over. When drivers make mistakes or don't stop driving when they need to, the outcome can be devastating.

Co-parenting isn't always easy, but a good attitude can help

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in child custody and child support on Friday, March 27, 2020.

Co-parenting is an arrangement that enables both parents to have an equal say in how the children are raised. It requires both adults to work as a team to make this happen, but it isn't always easy. You have to go into this situation with the purpose of remaining positive so that you can spread that attitude to the children.

The chances that you and your ex will agree on all points related to raising the children are slim. Acknowledging that there will be disagreements can help you plan for them. In order to do this, remember that you're each allowed to have your own opinions. The goal of communication when it comes to disagreements is to come up with a mutually agreeable solution that's in the child's best interests.

Does Georgia have a high rate of DUI arrests?

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

The consumption of alcohol is part of normal life for many adults. Most people drink responsibly and avoid driving after having any alcohol. However, there are times when a person may not realize just how much he or she has had to drink. There may even be times when authorities wrongly accuse people of intoxicated driving.

If you've ever faced a DUI arrest here in Georgia, you probably know how seriously the judicial system takes that offense. A conviction can mean jail time, probation, fines or license suspension, not to mention the damage done to your personal and professional reputation. All this might make you think that the Peach State has a high rate of intoxicated driving. However, a recent study shows that may not be the case. So, how do rates of DUI in Georgia compare to the rest of the nation?

A prenuptial agreement can provide asset protection

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in Divorce on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.

Those who are considering marriage in Georgia should be aware of a prenuptial agreement and how it can help them. What this agreement does is protect spouses in the event of a divorce by spelling out ahead of time what the terms of the property division are. This reduces some of the upheaval and discord that is associated with divorce and can give people peace of mind when entering into marriage.

A prenuptial agreement protects parties who are bringing significant assets into the marriage in the event of a divorce. This includes people who have family money or even those with assets of their own. For example, if someone owns a business or intends to start one, a prenuptial agreement will ensure that their business is not harmed by a divorce.

Traffic deaths went up where trucks hauled fracking wastewater

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in truck wrecks on Friday, March 13, 2020.

Industrial trucking traffic in rural areas in Georgia could increase traffic fatalities. A study of trucking accidents in the sparsely populated area of the Bakken Formation where trucks haul large amounts of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing wells to disposal sites showed an 8% rise in truck accident deaths on the roads near the wells.

A professor of agricultural and consumer economics studied accidents in the Bakken region from 2006 to 2014. She compared accidents to their proximity to hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" operations that involved high volumes of truck traffic. Fracking wells produce large amounts of wastewater contaminated with chemicals that oil and gas drillers send to disposal areas in trucks. The presence of wastewater trucks resulted in an additional 17 fatal wrecks every year.

Negotiating a child custody plan that works

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in child custody and child support on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

Georgia parents who file for divorce may be looking for the best options to help them negotiate a new relationship as co-parents to their children. Child custody issues can be some of the most emotional aspects of a divorce, even when both parents have a strong bond with their children and there is no history of neglect or abuse. Both parents want the most time possible with their children, but divorce often means adjusting to a new style of shared time. Divorce negotiations often result in a parenting plan that lays out a framework for how key issues will be handled, including custody schedules, decision-making and mutually agreed-upon rules.

Negotiating the child custody schedule may be one of the most challenging parts of developing a parenting plan. Different plans may work best for different families, depending on the parents' employment schedules and work style, and some families may maintain one parent with primary physical custody and the other with visitation. Other families prefer joint custody, with as close to equal time with the children as possible. Either option can provide a supportive framework for child development as long as both parents remain an active, loving part of their children's lives.

Later school start times may reduce teen car crash rate

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in car wrecks on Thursday, February 27, 2020.

Teen drivers in Georgia and across the U.S. are liable to cause car crashes because of drowsiness and inattention. While they cannot blame anyone else for such crashes, there are still ways to reduce crash risk. One is to delay the start of middle and high school to 8:30 a.m. or later, says the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

The AASM recommends that teens aged 13 to 18 get 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Teens tend to sleep later into the day because of changes to their circadian rhythm, and early school start times may interrupt this sleep and cause drowsiness. A study from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has explored this potential link between school start times and the rate of crashes involving teen drivers.

Sleep can save teen drivers from being involved in accidents

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. on Friday, February 21, 2020.

Every day, teenagers all across the country get up early and drive themselves to school. Most of them make it there with no issues, but there are several in Georgia and elsewhere who do not. Morning car accidents involving teens on their way to school happen all too often. Why is that?

Car accidents happen for a number of reasons. However, a study out of Boston Children's Hospital claims one thing is primarily responsible for morning collisions involving teenagers -- lack of sleep. Teenagers are not getting as much sleep as they need, and that is affecting their judgment and reaction time.

More older Americans are divorcing

On behalf of Harrison & Medlin, P.C. posted in Divorce on Monday, February 17, 2020.

While overall divorce rates in Georgia and across the nation have declined over the past 20 years, statistics show that divorce among older Americans has skyrocketed. In fact, the number of couples splitting up after the age of 50 doubled between 1990 and 2010.

Traditionally, there have been two common times people tend to divorce. The first one frequently occurs near the seven-year mark of marriage, and the second one often occurs around the 20-year mark. However, relationship experts are trying to better understand the growing phenomenon of divorce after 50, which has been coined "gray divorce". One factor could be emotional disconnection. Americans are living longer, and some older people might look at the remaining years of their life and decide they don't want to spend it with their current spouse. Another factor might be that the social stigma around divorce is decreasing, allowing older people to consider what was once unthinkable. Instead of continuing to suffer through affairs, abuse or other serious relationship issues, many people are now choosing to move on and look for happiness elsewhere.