Determining the custody of your children in the state of Georgia just became a little more cumbersome for divorcing parents. As of January 2008, children age 14 or older of divorcing parents can no longer determine which parent they want to live with. In further attempt by the court to foster a cooperative relationship between the parents after divorce, it is now mandated by Georgia state divorce law that parents of minor children in every divorce case must submit a detailed parenting plan to the Georgia family court for approval.
There are specific requirements to the content of the child custody parenting plan in Georgia which include which of the parents will retain physical custody of the child(ren), where the child(ren) will be every day during the year, how transportation will be handled including how the children will be exchanged between parents, where exchanges are to take place and which parent will pay for the cost of transportation. While many Georgia Family Law judges already required many of these stipulations be placed in a Settlement Agreement, this new procedures now make the process more uniform throughout the state. Additionally, by forcing a Settlement Agreement to contain so many specific requirements, proponents argue that there will be considerably less room for future dispute as to agreements being unclear or vague.
In line with these changes, also required in the parenting plan are how major decisions about the child's religion, health, extracurricular activities, education, and emergencies will be made along with how disagreements pertaining to these decisions should be resolved, as well as what limits each parent will have to information regarding the child’s school and medical records. The parenting plan also mandates whether a parent’s visitation with the child is to be unsupervised – if supervised, the details of supervision must be included in the plan to satisfy the Georgia child custody mediator during the divorce. The plan must also include specifics regarding limits of access to the children by phone or otherwise by one parent during the other parents time with the children.
Another notable change that went into effect as of January 1st that will affect parents filing for divorce in Georgia is that the judge is now allowed to award attorney’s fees to one parent or the other. In most cases, this issue does not come up, but the legislation is designed to prevent a wealthy parent from using repeated stall tactics to lengthen the legal process. It is obviously in the best interest of both parties to retain attorneys in Georgia who are well versed in the application of the new Georgia state laws regarding child custody.
If unable to retain a divorce attorney through a personal referral from a friend or relative, an advocacy website is a fine place to begin your search. Finding a divorce attorney who is on your side is important and can be done with a little research or a referral.
About the Author
Rhonda Conners is a national recognized author and lecturer on family law. Based in Marietta, Georgia, she routinely counsels Marietta divorce attorneys on the Georgia law process.See Also:
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