Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
How can a father get primary custody?
A friend of mine is planning to ask his wife for a divorce; the only thing holding him in his marriage this long is his almost-9-year-old son. His wife is the ''gotta-walk-on-eggshells-around/ apt-to-fly-off-the-handle-for-nothing'' type. She's frequently yelling and cursing at their son for inconsequential things.
My friend is worried that, being the father, he'll get weekends with his son at best, and he feels the child would be better off spending the majority of time in his care. He hates the idea of his son being alone with his mother all week without him (the father) there to buffer her anger a bit.
My question: What are his odds for making this happen? Is there anything he should do NOW to help his case that he's the more stable caregiver? I don't expect his wife to be compromising in this divorce; I expect she'll fight him on everything tooth and nail.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: How can a father get primary custody?
No one can give you odds. Your friend should see a lawyer and give the lawyer all the facts and that would let a lawyer better evaluate the case.
Usually the type things that will matter most are things like who usually takes the child to the doctor, who cooks the meals, who washes the clothes, who attends all the child's PTA and teacher meetings, who usually buys clothes for the child, etc. In other words, who already is the child's caregiver.
Starting to do these things now, if he hasn't done them for nine years, would be hugely transparent and everyone will see through it.
In other words, if he's a good parent, his actions should already show that.
Re: How can a father get primary custody?
Your friend should ASAP hire an attorney. He needs to know how your local judges are likely to rule on the issue. More and more I am seeing custody/visitation being 50-50. The issue usually turns on the "best interest of the child".
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