Andrea Sneiderman was recently convicted of several felony charges related to her husband's "Dunwoody day care" murder and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Andrea Sneiderman sentenced to five years, by Christian Boone, August 20, 2013, ajc.com. Fornearly the past year, Sneiderman and her children have been living with her parents in Johns Creek. The question now becomes: What will happen to her two young children?
Sneiderman's parents, the children's maternal grandparents, currently have custody of the children. There are no pending custody actions related to these children, but that does not mean there will not be a custody challenge, possibly by the paternal relatives of the children who have previously spoken about such an option. In Georgia, a party requesting a modification of custody must show "a change in any material conditions and circumstances of either party or the child." OCGA§19-9-3(b). In this case, the fact that the mother is going to prison for 5 years will likely qualify as a material change. However, the party requesting a custody change must then prove that modifying custody is in the best interests of the children (OCGA §19-9-3(a)), and this will be a more difficult burden to prove.
Here, you have two children whose father was murdered almost three years ago, and whose mother is now going to prison for crimes related to his death. Their lives have been completely shattered and, yet, they have continued to attend school and have a "normal" childhood while living with their maternal grandparents. Their paternal relatives live in Ohio. While the details of the children's current living situation are not known, uprooting them once again and moving them hundreds of miles away from their friends, schools and activities is likely not in their best interests. If a Petition for Modification of Custody is filed, it will be up to the Judge to weigh all the evidence and decide what is in the best interest of these children.