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Joint Legal Custody

What is Joint Legal Custody?

What is Joint Legal Custody?

Joint legal custody is the most common legal custody arrangement in Georgia. It means that both parents are supposed to share decision-making authority for major decisions regarding their children.

Georgia Law Requires a Final Decision Maker for Joint Legal Custody

Although Georgia law favors joint legal decision-making; Georgia law recognizes that there will be times where both parents disagree about the best course of action. Accordingly, Georgia requires that, even with joint legal custody, there must be a final decision maker for the significant legal decision-making areas related to a child.

Major areas of legal decision-making

The four legal decision-making areas related to a child are education, health, extracurricular activities, and religion.

Can the final decision maker for legal decisions be split?

Can Final Decision Making Authority for Legal Decisions be Split between the Parents?

Yes, the four primary areas of legal decision-making are often split between the parents based upon what is in the child's best interest. For example, if one parent is a doctor, a judge might be more likely to allow that parent to have final decision-making authority for legal decisions related to a child's non-emergency medical care.

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