Top Client Custody Questions

Physical custody refers to where the child lives and who has responsibilities associated with the child's daily care. Legal custody refers to the decision-making responsibilities related to the education, extracurricular activities, healthcare, and religious upbringing of a child.

No. In Georgia, child custody is determined based on the best interests of the child or children involved. Courts presiding over child custody matters will not presume that either parent is better suited for custody, nor will a court prefer one parent over the other based solely on gender. Read More

Joint custody is a 50/50 custodial arrangement, where the child spends an equal amount of time with each parent. Often, joint custody also involves parents sharing decision making responsibility concerning the child's education, extracurricular activities, healthcare, and religious upbringing. While no one solution is right for everybody, children benefit from the ongoing involvement of both parents, and a joint custody arrangement may be a way to ensure that both parents maintain an active role in the lives of the children. However, a joint custody arrangement may be challenging to maintain if the parents are not living in the same area or cannot work well together.

In Georgia, courts determine child custody by considering what would be in the child's best interest. The factors a court may consider include: the parent's ability to provide a loving and stable home environment for the child, the pre-existing relationship between parent and child, which parent has been the primary caretaker of the child, the parenting abilities of each parent, and whether either parent has a history of child abuse or neglect.

It is not always easy to modify a custody arrangement that has been ordered by the court or agreed upon by you and your child's other parent. But, it is possible. It is typically more challenging to modify a currently existing custody arrangement than it is to create one in the first place. There must be a substantial change in circumstances in Georgia before a court grants a modification of child custody.

Parenting time or visitation is not dependent on child support. Thus, one parent may not withhold child support in exchange for visitation rights, and the other parent may not withhold visitation in the absence of child support payments. Suppose the non-custodial parent in your case is behind or refusing to pay child support. In that case, you have other remedies available to you, like going to court and filing a contempt action against the delinquent parent or visiting your local child support enforcement office to collect past-due child support payments.

As with the initial custody determination in Georgia, this issue is determined with the child's best interests in mind. A court will weigh several factors, including but not limited to the child's ties to local schools and friends, the child's age, the custodial parent's reasons for relocating, and the stress and instability of relocation, and the corresponding benefits of consistency and stability for the child.

Custody evaluations are often a regular part of contested custody cases. It is essential to cooperate with the custody evaluator as the evaluation is designed to determine what is in your children's best interests. If any concerns arise during the evaluation, share them with your attorney.

If one spouse refuses to abide by the court-ordered visitation schedule or custody arrangement, that parent is in contempt of court. In other words, it is illegal for either parent to disregard or disobey the court's order concerning custody and visitation. If the non-custodial parent has failed to comply with the custody order, you may file a contempt action. This action will allow you to seek the help of the court in enforcing your agreement. Alternatively, if your current custody arrangement is no longer suitable for your family's needs, consider seeking child custody modification.