IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Georgia
Georgia splits custody into two parts. [GA-P1, GA-P2] Legal custody means making major decisions about your child, like school, health care, activities and religion. [GA-P1, GA-P2] Physical custody means where your child lives; the other parent usually gets visitation, also called parenting time. [GA-P1, GA-P2]
Georgia law does not favor the mother or the father, and it does not presume any particular form of custody, such as joint or sole. [GA-P1, GA-P4] The judge decides what is in your child's best interests and what will best promote your child's welfare and happiness. [GA-P4]
Every custody case between parents needs a parenting plan, except emergency family-violence cases. [GA-P2, GA-P3] If parents agree, they can file one plan together; if not, each parent files their own. [GA-P2] The statewide court rule gives a plan form with choices such as first and third weekends, second and fourth weekends, or every other weekend, but none of these applies automatically. [GA-P3] Parents or the judge must pick and fill in the schedule. [GA-P3]
If parents were never married, the father has no custody or visitation rights until he files a legitimation case in court, even if he is on the birth certificate. [GA-P1] Laws can change, so confirm the current rules with the Superior Court clerk or a legal aid office before you file. [GA-P2]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Legal custody
- The right to make major decisions about your child. With joint legal custody, parents share these decisions, and one parent is often named the tiebreaker if they cannot agree. [GA-P1]
- Physical custody
- Where your child lives. Primary physical custody means the child's main home is with one parent. [GA-P1] Under Georgia's definition, joint physical custody means the parents share physical custody so the child has substantially equal time and contact with both. [GA-P10]
- Parenting plan
- The required written plan that covers custody, decision-making, the parenting time schedule, holidays and summer. [GA-P2, GA-P3]
- Legitimation
- A court case an unmarried father files to become the child's legal father. It gives him the right to ask for custody or visitation, but does not grant them by itself. [GA-P1]
- Visitation (parenting time)
- The time a child spends with the parent who does not have physical custody. A court can put limits on it if that is best for the child. [GA-P1]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Georgia ask first
Does Georgia start from 50/50?
No. Georgia law says there is no presumption for any particular form of custody, legal or physical, and no presumption for either parent. [GA-P1, GA-P4] The judge decides based on your child's best interests. [GA-P4]
What does the judge look at?
The judge can consider many factors, including: each parent's emotional bond with the child; the child's ties to siblings; each parent's ability to provide food, clothing, medical care and daily needs; how long the child has lived in a stable home; each parent's mental and physical health; each parent's involvement in school and activities; whether each parent can co-parent and support the child's relationship with the other parent; and any family violence, child abuse, substance abuse or criminal history. [GA-P1]
Does my child get to choose?
At 14 or older, your child can choose which parent to live with, and that choice generally stands unless the judge finds the chosen parent is not in the child's best interests. [GA-P1, GA-P4] For children 11 to 13, the judge considers the child's wishes and educational needs but makes the final decision. [GA-P1, GA-P4]
Can I move away with my child?
Georgia legal aid explains that a parent is generally free to move within the United States. [GA-P1] Unless the custody order says otherwise, the parent who is moving must give the other parent at least 30 days' notice before the move, including the full new address. [GA-P11] That gives the other parent time to ask the court to change custody or visitation, since a move can count as a material change. [GA-P1] Check your own order, because it can set different notice rules.
Can the order be changed later?
Yes. To change custody, you file a new case and show a material change in circumstances affecting your child. [GA-P1, GA-P11] Visitation can be changed without showing a change in circumstances, but no more than once in each two-year period after the order is entered. [GA-P1, GA-P11]
We were never married. What happens first?
Until there is a court order, the mother of a child born to unmarried parents holds all custody rights. [GA-P1] The father must file a legitimation action, usually in the county where the mother and child live, and can ask for custody or visitation in the same case. [GA-P1]
What if I am not safe?
A Temporary Protective Order can set custody. [GA-P1] When a judge finds family violence in a custody case, the judge must treat the safety of the child and the abused parent as the first concern. [GA-P4] Parents seeking emergency relief for family violence do not have to file a parenting plan first. [GA-P3]
Free, official places to start
- GeorgiaLegalAid.org: What should I know about child custody?
Free legal aid guide to custody types, legitimation, a child's choice, moving and changing orders.
- Georgia.gov: File for Child Custody
The state's short guide to where to file, serving the other parent and the parenting plan requirement.
- Uniform Superior Court Rules (Rule 24.10 parenting plan form) (PDF)
The statewide parenting plan form every Superior Court uses as its base.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · ATLANTA
Fulton County
Superior Court of Fulton County, Family Division (Atlanta Judicial Circuit)
Fulton County's Family Division adds its own rules on top of state law. [GA-P7] Every family case gets an Automatic Domestic Standing Order (entered January 23, 2026). While a custody case is open, it bars taking the children out of Georgia except for trips of 14 days or less with advance written notice (camp and boarding school are also allowed), bans harassing the other parent, and requires each parent to attend a co-parenting seminar. [GA-P7] Each parent must also complete a Domestic Intake Worksheet and bring it to a 30-day status conference. [GA-P7, GA-P9] The court posts its own parenting plan forms, which follow the statewide Rule 24.10 choices. [GA-P6, GA-P8]
- Notice of Domestic Standing Order with 2026 Automatic Domestic Standing Order (PDF)
The rules both parents must follow from the day a Fulton family case is filed until the final order.
- Fulton County Family Law Forms
Fulton's own forms for custody, legitimation, divorce and parenting plans.
- Fulton Consent Parenting Plan (PDF)
The plan parents fill in together, with weekend, holiday and summer choices.
- Family Division Rules
Fulton's local rules on intake, the 30-day status conference and required disclosures.
Other counties in Georgia can have different local rules and forms. Check the court where your case is filed.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
No fixed statewide schedule identified
Research overview
A required standardized parenting-plan form with multiple selectable schedules and blanks, not a prescribed statewide calendar.
Legal force and applicability
Case-specific calendar; no fixed statewide calendar identified in reviewed sources. Any custody/allocation presumption is separate.
Authority and geographic scope
Statewide Rule 24.10; local examples are not statewide defaults. [GA-1]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
Rule 24.10 form offers 1st/3rd, 1st/3rd/5th, 2nd/4th, alternate weekends or custom time, with exchange times left blank; weekday options also require selection. None automatically applies. [GA-1]
Holidays and school breaks
The form requires case-specific holiday/break allocation and priority selections. Its winter-break template ends the second period at 6 p.m. the evening before school resumes and alternates first/second periods unless otherwise indicated, but parent, split date/time and initial parity must be filled in. No universal completed parity applies. [GA-1]
Summer and vacation time
Summer allocation is completed case by case on the plan. [GA-1]
Age and development
Child needs change with maturity; no fixed statewide age-band calendar identified in the reviewed sources. [GA-1]
Distance, travel, and relocation
Transportation and exchange arrangements are specified individually; no statewide mileage-tier schedule identified in the reviewed sources. [GA-1]
Safety & exceptions
Emergency family-violence relief excepted from usual plan submission; supervision section available; §19-9-3(a)(4) prioritizes safety when family violence is found. [GA-1,GA-2,GA-6,GA-7]