Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia

Re: age 14 custody modification

If you initiate a legal action to modify custody, you can request that the court appoint a Guardian Ad Litem attorney who will be required to investigate and provide the court with a report, indicating the relevant issues and giving an opinion as to the best interests of the children. In Georgia, a child who is 14 years of age can elect which parent he or she will live with, but the Judge is not bound to abide by that child's decision if it is not in that child's best interests.

Re: age 14 custody modification

The law will change for cases filed after Jan 1 2008. The law now is that at 14 a child has the almost absolute right to select his or her custodial parent. The only exception to this rule is if the court finds the selected parent unfit. For cases filed after Jan 1 2008, the test will be whether the child's slected change of custody is in the child's best interest. If you are interested in pursuing this, you should do so before Jan 1.

Re: age 14 custody modification

A good first step is to sit down with a lawyer to review the paperwork and discuss details. Change sof custody can be expensive and traumatic and you will also want to consider other lesser options, such as modification of visitation. Please call me if I can assist you.