Friday, April 29, 2011

Divorce, Judicial Discretion, and Square Rocks


On my desk, at The Goolsby Law Firm, LLC, located in Augusta, Georgia, sits this square rock!  (I guess that, technically, the rock would be considered a cube)!  What does a square rock have to do with a divorce-related blog?  Consider the following point.
Although family law judges generally follow guidelines which normally apply to most divorce or child custody cases, it is important to recognize that they also generally retain some discretion to deviate from the norm.  And there is a good reason for this judicial discretion.  Simply put, not all people and not all divorce cases are alike.  Just as most rocks are round, occasionally, you run across one that is square!  For instance, Georgia's child support guidelines might dictate that a parent should pay a certain prescribed amount of child support.  However, a judge is granted discretion to deviate from the prescribed amount if, for example, the parent is temporarily unemployed, or otherwise has lower income.
Frankly, as a divorce attorney, I am glad that judges retain some discretion to depart from the norm.  After all, not all of us rocks are round!  Don't you agree?

5 comments:

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  3. I have never thought much about whether a rock was round or square shape. Rocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, I know a very witty therapist who had this to say about love and the chemistry that magnetizes people to one another: The rocks in his head -- fits the holes in your head!

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  4. Thanks for the visit! Very witty observation!

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