Custody help for Atlanta parents.
In a city as large and varied as Atlanta, no two custody situations look alike, and the stakes for your children could not be higher. Whether you are seeking primary custody, a workable parenting schedule, or simply to protect your time with your kids, Georgia law turns on one question: what is in your children’s best interest. We help you build a clear, child-focused case.
Daniels & Taylor serves Atlanta families from our office in Lawrenceville.
What most people pay for a case evaluation to learn
Georgia courts decide custody by one standard: the best interest of the child (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)). There is no presumption in favor of the mother. Georgia long ago abolished the old tender-years rule, so a father and a mother start on equal footing (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)(1)).
Custody has two parts: legal custody, the right to make major decisions about education, health, religion, and activities, and physical custody, where the child lives day to day. A child who is at least fourteen has the right to select the parent he or she wants to live with, and the court will honor that choice unless living with that parent is not in the child’s best interest; for a child between eleven and fourteen the judge considers the child’s wishes but is not bound by them (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)(5), (6)).
How a Georgia child-custody case works
Custody is decided as part of a divorce, a legitimation, or a stand-alone custody action, and Georgia requires a written parenting plan that sets out legal custody, physical custody, and a parenting-time schedule in every case that decides custody (O.C.G.A. 19-9-1). The judge weighs the best-interest factors the statute lists, such as each parent’s bond with the child, each home, and each parent’s ability to care for the child (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)(3)).
Once custody is set, changing it is not automatic. To modify custody you must show a material change in circumstances that affects the child’s welfare, and then that the new arrangement serves the child’s best interest (Scott v. Scott, 276 Ga. 372 (2003)). We can handle the parenting plan, the hearing, and a modification when circumstances have genuinely changed.
In Georgia, a custody order generally can be modified when there has been a new and material change in circumstances affecting the child’s welfare (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3), so a parent in Atlanta seeking a different arrangement typically pursues a modification.
In Georgia, a violated custody or parenting-time order is generally enforced through a contempt action rather than self-help (O.C.G.A. 19-9-23(b)), so a parent in Atlanta facing a violation typically files for contempt.
In Georgia, a father of a child born to unmarried parents generally must legitimate the child before he can pursue a custody claim (O.C.G.A. 19-7-22), so for a father in Atlanta, legitimation is typically the required first step.
Common questions about child custody in Atlanta
What is the difference between legal and physical custody?
Legal custody covers major decisions like school, health care, and religion; physical custody is where the child lives day to day. Either can be joint or held primarily by one parent.
Does Georgia favor the mother in custody?
No. Georgia law presumes in favor of no parent based on gender; custody is decided on the child’s best interest (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)(1)).
Will my teenager get to choose which parent?
At 14 a child can select a parent, and that choice is presumptive, but a judge can override it if it is not in the child’s best interest (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)(5)).
Where is a custody case filed?
An initial child custody case is generally filed in the county where the other parent lives; when custody is decided as part of a divorce, it is filed in the county where the responding spouse lives (O.C.G.A. 19-5-2; Ga. Const. Art. VI, Sec. II, Par. VI). Because the right county depends on where the other party resides, we can confirm it before you file.
Your children’s stability is worth protecting. Call (770) 285-1673 for a free case evaluation.
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