As global investment continues reshaping Southeast Georgia’s economy — from the Port of Savannah to major projects like Hyundai’s Meta Plant — international family disputes are becoming more frequent and more complex, according to David Purvis, partner at The Manely Firm family law practice. 

The rise in international mobility has translated directly into a surge of cross-border divorce, custody and child abduction cases, asserts Mr. Purvis, who practices primarily out of the Atlanta-based firm’s Savannah office. 

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in Georgia’s role on the global level,” Mr. Purvis says. “There’s been a lot of growth in business in Georgia and particularly in our Savannah market with the Hyundai Meta Plant and some of the other big projects… that has increased the number of our cases where we’ve got one or more parties who are from another country initially.” 

With offices across Georgia, plus an office in London, The Manely Firm focuses exclusively on family law. 

Mr. Purvis’s path into international family law began in law school, where he met the firm’s Chief Experience Officer, Sheila Manely. He formally joined The Manely Firm in 2013 and has since become a core member of its internationally focused practice. 

Deep Experience with Military Families 

Savannah’s substantial military presence — including Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield — adds another layer of complexity to Mr. Purvis’s caseload. 

“We have an enormous military presence,” he notes. “A lot of our practice in the Savannah office deals with one or more parties who are active-duty service members or retired service members.” 

This population often faces jurisdictional confusion, particularly when deployments or foreign assignments are involved. 

“There’s a lot of myths about whether a service member who may be stationed in Fort Stewart but originally from Alabama is under Georgia jurisdiction,” Mr. Purvis says. “If they’re living in Georgia, they’ve been a resident for six months, they can get divorced in Georgia.” 

Even when a service member is stationed abroad — often in Germany or Korea — Georgia frequently retains jurisdiction if the service member’s duty station was originally within the state.  

These types of family law cases require careful planning around visitation and deployment cycles. “If they’re serving overseas, how do we effectuate visitation? If they’re subject to long deployments, how do we ensure that before and after those deployments, they have quality time with their children?” Mr. Purvis asks. 

Growing Cross-Border Challenges: Deportation, Citizenship, Asset Protection 

Shifts in national immigration policy have introduced new concerns for international families living in Georgia. Mr. Purvis notes that his team increasingly works with families navigating differing citizenship statuses and the risk of separation. 

“We are experiencing an increase in the number of cases where we’re seeing parents with different citizenship statuses trying to navigate what happens if a spouse gets deported,” he says. 

Mr. Purvis emphasizes the need for families to take a proactive approach. 

“It is really uncomfortable to think about a potential deportation,” he said. “But it’s very important to think about that now… so that should that happen, it’s a more comforting situation to know that your child’s taken care of and your assets are going to be secure.” 

To support these families, The Manely Firm recently added two complementary services: 

  • A Child and Asset Protection Program designed for families facing possible deportation 
  • An immigration law practice to streamline support within the firm 

“We felt these dovetailed nicely with our current family law practice, particularly with the focus on international family law,” Mr. Purvis says. “Rather than bringing in outside counsel… we have attorneys in our firm on staff that are well-versed in those issues, and we can keep everything in house.” 

High-Intensity Child Abduction Litigation 

Mr. Purvis is part of the firm’s internationally recognized Hague Convention practice, which handles cases of international child abduction. These matters move at exceptional speed — generally six weeks start to finish, he notes.  

“We’re consolidating all of [the work of] a year or two years into about a six-week period… they’re very complex cases. There’s a lot on the line as far as whether the child gets returned to their home country or not.” 

Because of the compressed timeline, Mr. Purvis says, Hague litigation demands a highly coordinated team of attorneys and paralegals.  

One particularly memorable case, handled out of the Savannah office, highlighted both the difficulty and the rewards of this work. A mother living in Central America had her child abducted into the U.S. by the other parent. The Manely Firm coordinated investigators, federal court proceedings and remote participation by the mother — who could not legally enter the U.S. — to secure the child’s safe return. 

“The silver lining… was we not only got the child returned, but the child returned to mom on Mother’s Day,” Mr. Purvis recalls. 

Guidance for Cross-Border Parents 

Mr. Purvis emphasizes the importance of explicit parenting plans with clear departure and return dates for families separated across countries.  

“To be able to show there was an intended return date goes a long way in protecting the stay-behind parent,” he says. 

Even during extraordinary circumstances, such as COVID-related border closures, plans can be modified, but documentation is critical to prevent misunderstandings that may escalate into Hague Convention actions, Mr. Purvis warns. 

While the cases can be intense, Mr. Purvis finds lasting meaning in the work. 

“I’ve developed some lifelong relationships with clients… they keep me up to date with their children. The Hague cases are very intense, very stressful, but to return a child across borders is really remarkable work.” 

For internationally mobile families or global businesses with employees facing cross-border family law issues, request a consultation at https://www.allfamilylaw.com/contact/. 

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