Specific QDRO requirements are contained in the law known as ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Under the law, a QDRO must contain the following: the name of each plan involved; the full name and last known mailing address of the participant and the alternate payee; the number of payments or time period to which the order applies; and, the precise dollar amount or exact percentage (or the method of determining the amount of percentage) of the benefit to be paid to the alternate payee.

You can’t have a jury trial in a municipal court in the state of Georgia. And Sandy Springs is no exception. By law, jury trials can only be held in state courts and superior courts. If you want a jury trial you will have to “bind-over” the case to Fulton County State Court, which is in Atlanta. The reason the case would be sent to the Fulton State Court is because Sandy Springs is a city located in Fulton County.

If you are convicted of or plead guilty to a DUI charge in the state of Georgia, the relevant DUI statute, O.C.G.A § 40-6-391, requires “a period of probation of 12 months less any days during which the person is actually incarcerated.” However, it’s possible that the probation can become non-reporting once you have completed all of the conditions of your sentence. Some of the conditions of your sentence can include a risk reduction course and community service, among other things.

What is a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)? A QDRO is a type of domestic relations order usually issued in divorce cases. During a divorce or legal separation, a QDRO splits a retirement or pension plan by recognizing joint martial ownership interest in retirement accounts was different types.

A qualified domestic relations order, also known as a QDRO, is a special court order that grants a person the right to a portion of the retirement benefits of his or her former spouse who earned them through participation in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. QDROs are typically prepared during or immediately after divorce proceedings. In a QDRO, the person who earned the benefit is called the “participant” and the person who is designated to receive a share of that benefit is called the “alternate payee.” QDROs can award benefits to the alternate payee while the participant is alive, as well as survivor benefits should the participant dies.

A QDRO (pronounced as “qua-dro”) is a type of domestic relations order usually issued in divorce cases. During a divorce or legal separation, a QDRO splits a retirement or pension plan by recognizing joint martial ownership interest in the plan. A QDRO is a difficult document to draft and many people make mistakes when drafting them.

DUI charges in Gwinnett County are handled in many courts. Gwinnett County has municipal courts, also known as city courts, along with a state court and a superior court. Gwinnett County also has a Recorder’s Court.

You can get a DUI simply from the use of legal prescription medications. In fact, it is becoming more and more common. As more people utilize prescription drugs for various physical and mental diagnoses, we are seeing more arrests being made for DUI-drugs. Oftentimes if a police officer suspects that a driver is under the influence of drugs, they will request a blood test. And the results of the blood test will be of great importance to a DUI-drugs charge.

It’s quite common for people to feel a cop was mean to them and was dishonest in some way, particularly when the interaction ends with a DUI arrest. Most police officers, in our experience, are well-trained and professional, but like all professions and careers, there are exceptions. It's not illegal in many circumstances for a cop to lie. As a Sandy Springs DUI lawyer, we analyze your case to determine if the police officer crossed any legal lines.

Failure to maintain lane is a common reason to be stopped by a police officer. The Georgia law for failure to maintain lane is O.C.G.A. 40-6-48. In evaluating whether a stop for failure to maintain lane was proper, we would like to know if the police officer has a video of it. Many DUI arrests involve a failure to maintain lane stop.

Before we assess your “chances in court” when facing a Dunwoody DUI, we’d certainly want to do some investigation. We’d want to scrutinize the police report and watch the video of the stop and arrest, if one exists. That’s a good way of determining what your best options are. Then we can determine what tactics and strategies to utilize in the Dunwoody Municipal Court.

The breath test administered on the street by a law enforcement officer is usually known as an Intoximeter, Alco-Sensor, Preliminary Breath Test (PBT), or Preliminary Alcohol Screening test (PAS). It's usually a hand-held device. An Intoxilyzer, however, is generally a larger machine than an Alco-Sensor and it is usually administered in a jail, at a police station, or at another law enforcement location. The Intoxilyzer test, unlike the Alco-sensor test, is admissible in a Georgia court for the specific alcohol reading.

A prenuptial agreement is to help you protect premarital assets and plan for whatever the future may bring, as you enter your marriage relationship. A postnuptial agreement is very similar to a prenuptial agreement; however, it is a contract that is written after a couple gets married.

The Gwinnett County Police, as part of one of their Special Operations Sections, have a DUI Task Force. As the name implies, the Task Force’s goal is the enforcement of DUI laws and to make DUI arrests. More and more we’re seeing that if a driver refuses a breath test, the Task Force members are getting warrants from a judge allowing a blood draw. Blood tests are considered to be the most accurate measure of a person’s alcohol level. Under Georgia law a police officer, deputy sheriff, or state trooper can make a warrant application to a judge, and if the judge signs-off, then the law enforcement official can force the driver submit to a blood test.

It certainly doesn’t hurt her if we tell the prosecutor that she rarely drinks. The same is true for the marijuana possession charge. The question, at first, at least, is whether there exists evidence for a criminal charge. If there is not enough evidence, the charge can be dropped. If there is evidence, then the question for a criminal defense lawyer is how to best handle the matter so that the client gets the best possible outcome under all the circumstances.

Traditionally, many people feel that a shower “sobers” someone up. In movies and in books it is common for a character to take a shower to help regain sobriety. However, taking a shower does not actually “sober” someone up in the technical sense of lowering their blood-alcohol concentration. A hot shower or a cold shower does not have an effect on alcohol that has been ingested into your body.

As Roswell divorce attorneys we deal with “money issues” and “child issues” every day. Pensions and 401 (k)’s are divided using what’s known as a QDRO (a Qualified Domestic Relations Order). We draft many QDRO’s. Child support and child custody are common issues in divorce. The Georgia child support guidelines are used to determine child support payments and the standard for child custody is the best interests of the child.

Child custody is determined by a judge or jury based upon “the best interests of the child.” This allows a court to fashion a situation that keeps the kids safe and gives them the best chance of thriving.

Under Georgia law, each subsequent DUI is punished more severely. So it comes as no surprise that a second DUI carries more severe ramifications than a first DUI, and a sentence for a third DUI is yet sterner. Interestingly, because Georgia is composed of many counties and cities, each entity has a wide range of latitude to craft its own sentences. Each county and municipal court can vary slightly (or sometimes not so slightly) in how it sentences for DUI. Sentence conditions like jail time, community service, fines, and probationary period can vary between jurisdictions even for the exact same charge.

The primary consideration for a Georgia court in a custody matter is “the best interest of the child.” The court wants there be the least impact as possible on the child. The judge wants the child’s routine to remain normal and stable since children do best when they feel comfortable, safe, and protected. A court will consider a number of factors when making a custody decision, including: the age and health of the child, the jobs and careers of the couple, which parent is handling primary parenting responsibilities, the child’s preference of parent, the emotional ties between the parents and the child, the time each parent spent with the children in the past, history of family violence, alcoholism or drug abuse, and parental skills.

Since a will can be considered invalid by a court, it’s crucial that the will be drafted in accordance with Georgia law. To be valid under the law, the last will and testament must have three features: a will must be in writing; a will must be signed; and a will must have two witnesses. If any of these three criteria are not met, the will fails under Georgia law and is invalid.

Many people will not get married without a written prenup in place. A prenup protects men and women from having to give up or lose assets to which they are entitled, assets the other spouse did not help them acquire. Because it offers needed protections, security and peace of mind, many clients tell us it actually helps make their marriage stronger, better, and more loving. It helps alleviate any suspicions. You need to declare all of your assets for the prenuptial agreement to be valid. If assets are not identified, the prenup can be ruled invalid.

In Dunwoody, like most other courts, you can pay any court-imposed fines and fees over a span of time, usually over a number of months. It would be rare for a court to expect the full payment of fines at one time in a lump sum. Interestingly, under Georgia DUI law, courts can impose a range of fines. One Georgia court might actually impose a fine that is twice as much as another court. And both fines are perfectly legal.

The city of Sandy Springs has its own municipal court that handles a variety of charges under Georgia state law, including traffic and DUI charges, as well as local ordinance violations. The prosecutors are led by Bill Riley, whose law firm acts as solicitors for the city. Mr. Riley is also the prosecutor in other jurisdictions. Since Sandy Springs is in Fulton County, if the case can’t be resolved in the municipal court, then it can be sent to the State Court of Fulton County. Jury trials not available in municipal courts in Georgia, so if a jury trial is requested, it must be sent to the state court in Atlanta. The address of the municipal court is: 7840 Roswell Rd, Atlanta, GA 30350.

A Last Will and Testament can be legally void or invalid. A will can be found by a court to be invalid if any of the following are found to have played a part in its origin: threats, fraud, violence, and coercion. A will must be freely and voluntarily made. If it was unduly influenced by anyone or any group, then there may be grounds for it to be held invalid or void.