Question: I'm going to divorce my husband as fast as I can because he's abusive, he's seeing prostitutes here in Alpharetta or elsewhere in North Fulton County, and he has a drinking problem that makes things worse.

I caught him on the internet and he was looking up escorts in Alpharetta. I looked at his phone when he went to the bathroom drunk and I couldn't believe what I found. “Massages in Atlanta,” “escorts in Alpharetta,” and some kind of “sugar daddy” website for him to meet women looking for some kind of “arrangement.” I'm sure the arrangement involves paying for sex. One of the websites had the word “MILF.” I was disgusted.

He's also a big drinker. At home he always has a whiskey, bourbon or rye, a beer, or something in his hand. It's like he has to stay drunk for some reason. And he drives drunk and that's a scary thing because we have two kids less than 10 years of age. And when he drinks he gets nasty towards everyone one. He insulted my 8 year old daughter; he called her ugly. He calls my son a retard and a moron.

So I need a divorce; maybe it will be an uncontested divorce, I hope so, but I doubt it. I think he'll contest it. And I want to get child support to take care of the kids, child custody because I'm the better parent for the kids and maybe alimony because I haven't worked in 10 years.

We've been married for 12 years and he wasn't always so bad. There was a time when he didn't drink because he didn't want to be a drunk like his daddy and grand-daddy. He said he's stay sober his whole life. But then he fell into a group who drank all the time, from morning to night, even when they played tennis or ate breakfast. Wine, beer, spirits, it didn't matter; they always stayed drunk.

I don't think it's safe or healthy for the kids to be around him. I want to get your opinion and see if I can get child support, custody of the kids, and alimony. I need a divorce lawyer in Alpharetta. Thank you so much.

P.B. in Alpharetta

Answer: Many divorces are uncontested. That means there is very little if any negotiation of the terms of the split. An uncontested divorce is one where the couple agrees on the terms for the divorce.

Other couples, however, don't always agree on all the terms and conditions of their divorce. They can disagree over many issues, such as the amount of child support, the terms of child custody, how debts should be split, or over how assets (like the marital home) should be apportioned, as well as many other things. If there is disagreement, the divorce is considered contested.  

Child custody is based on the best interests of the child. Basically a court and a judge can determine what they think is in the child's best interests. Maybe it's a custody award to the mother or perhaps it's to the father. The court looks at the totality of the circumstances to determine what it considers the optimal parental arrangement for custody. The court can take evidence from both parties. But that doesn't mean the court has to award custody. Many times the parties can come to an agreement for custody without having a judge intervene. O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3 is the Georgia law governing custody.

In your case, if he is insulting the children, openly looking for sexual partners, and frequently intoxicated, that could certainly impact a custody award.

Child support in Georgia is done with the child support calculator. There are various components and calculations that go into determining child support. It takes into account parental income as well as other important factors. Calculating child support is not necessarily a straightforward or easy proposition because multiple factors can come into play. O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15 is the Georgia law governing child support.

Alimony is based on various factors. Length of marriage, incomes, job and career possibilities, and education are just some of the variables considered when looking at alimony. O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1 is the Georgia code section for alimony.

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