Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia

Re: Can a child choose legal guardian at 14?

A petition to change custody can be filed in the Superior Court in the county where the mom lives. The children should sign affidavits indicating their selection and those affidavits should be filed with the petition. The petition must be served on the mom by sheriff or process server. A hearing will be scheduled for the court to consider the change of custody but under current law, the children's choice is binding on the court unless the parent selected by them is shown to be unfit. NOTE: this law is changing in January 2008, so any actions seeking a change under the current standards must be filed before January.

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Re: Can a child choose legal guardian at 14?

The child's choice is a factor considred by the court; however, if the mother elects to challenge that choice, she may prevail. Therefore, you may want to employ an attorney to represent your interests. Another thing to consider is that you probably will want to modify the support arrangement, which is good reason to employ an attorney.