Learn More>>Child Custody>>Overview
There are many actions available to contest the child custody in Georgia including, divorce, an alimony action, a habeas corpus proceeding, change of custody hearing, parens patriae actions, and a deprivation action in juvenile court.
In Georgia divorce cases, the judge may initially hear child custody disputes as part of the divorce proceeding and grant child custody pending litigation in a Georgia divorce court. In all Georgia divorce cases, the party not in default is entitled to the custody of minor children, unless the divorce court, in its discretion, may look to all the circumstances and make a different disposition of the children. A grandparent may intervene in certain cases and seek custody in Georgia.
In a Georgia alimony proceeding, either party may institute a hearing requesting custody. Upon three days notice to the other side, the judge will hear the case and makes a ruling as if it were a Georgia divorce case.
A change of custody hearing can be brought in the county where the custodial parent resides. The Georgia child custody court must determine what is in the best interests of the child. In a child custody case, the initial custody ward does not always control if there has been a material change in circumstances that affect the child.
Other actions that may be used to change the custody of a child include a "parens patrie action wherein a friend or relative of the child believes the interests of the child are best deserved through a change in custody and files an action in the superior court.
The juvenile court in a Georgia child custody may terminate the parental rights of a parent with respect to his child if the parent has abandoned the child or the child s so deprived that the court finds the conditions and causes of the deprivation will continue and that the child is suffering or probably will suffer serious physical, mental, moral, or emotional harm. Temporary custody can be awarded for up to 12 months without terminating parental right.
