Get a Free Consultation
Support decisions affect your budget for years, so it's worth getting them right. Our Alpharetta alimony and child support attorneys at Modern Family Law help you set, change or enforce support under Georgia law. We explain alimony and spousal support before you agree to terms, and your first consultation is free.
Georgia sets child support by formula, but alimony has no formula. In higher-income North Fulton households, both can depend on how bonuses, equity and business income are counted.
Our Alpharetta support attorneys look at your complete financial picture so the order is fair to both households.
Schedule a Free ConsultationChild support and alimony follow very different rules in Georgia.
Georgia uses an income shares model. Both parents' gross monthly incomes are combined, the basic amount comes from the state table and each parent pays a share. Health insurance and child care are added, and since January 1, 2026, a parenting time adjustment is required. The state table now covers combined incomes up to $40,000 a month.
Georgia has no alimony formula. A judge or jury considers the standard of living, the length of the marriage, each spouse's age, health, earning ability and contributions, and each spouse's separate estate. A spouse whose adultery or desertion caused the separation can't receive alimony.
Estimate payments with our Georgia child support estimator and spousal maintenance calculator.
For North Fulton families, support is usually decided in the divorce case in Fulton County Superior Court, or in Forsyth County Superior Court in Cumming if your spouse lives there. Parents who never married can ask for support in a legitimation or custody case, or work with Georgia's Division of Child Support Services.
Support for a child generally continues until age 18, or up to age 20 while the child is still in high school. Alimony may be awarded as temporary support during the case, or as periodic or lump-sum alimony in the final decree.
In Alpharetta, support often turns on how high or irregular income is counted.
Stock awards, annual bonuses, commissions and business income can all affect support. We help separate what counts as income from what is a divided asset, so the same money isn't counted twice.
A job change, layoff or big shift in income may justify a modification. Georgia generally allows child support modifications once every two years, with exceptions for involuntary income loss. Periodic alimony can also be changed after a substantial change, and missed payments can be enforced through contempt proceedings.
Our Alpharetta support attorneys will review your numbers and give you clear next steps. Talk with an Alpharetta support lawyer for free.
At Modern Family Law, we explain how support is calculated before you agree to anything, so there are no surprises.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Parents can agree to a different amount, but the court must approve it and explain why it differs from the guideline amount.
The table tops out at a combined adjusted income of $40,000 a month. Above that, the basic amount is set at the table's highest level, and the court may add an upward deviation if the family's circumstances call for it.
Yes. Georgia allows lump-sum alimony, paid at once or in set installments. It generally can't be changed later.
Yes. A spouse whose adultery or desertion caused the separation can't receive alimony.
They can. Whether equity counts as income, as a divided asset or both depends on the type of award and how it is handled in the divorce.
It can. The court may add private school tuition and similar costs as extraordinary educational expenses when they're appropriate for the child.
Our Calculators
We’re not fans of surprises and we suspect you aren’t either. We built these divorce calculators just for you, so you know what to expect every step of the way.
Divorce
Family Law
