Aggressive Advocates Who Know What's At Stake

Last updated on April 15, 2025

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To help ensure accuracy, this page was written, edited and is periodically reviewed by a knowledgeable team of legal writers per our editorial guidelines. It was approved for publication by founding attorney Samuel Siemon, who has amassed extensive experience as a Georgia family law attorney. Our last modified date shows when the page underwent a review.

Atlanta Custody Attorneys Protecting You And Your Child

During a divorce, the child custody agreement may be the most challenging issue between you and your former spouse. You want what is best for your child or children, but with the deterioration of your relationship, you and your child’s other parent may not always agree on what is best.

At The Siemon Law Firm Divorce and Family Law Attorneys, P.C., our custody attorneys are experienced in helping parents work through the difficulties of child custody, visitation and parenting plans, and they help obtain an agreement that truly is in the best interests of their children. To schedule a consultation, call 770-215-0947 to make an appointment at our Atlanta office.

What Are ‘Best Interests Of The Children’ Standards In Atlanta Custody Cases

This is the standard that a court will use in Georgia and virtually every other state when settling custody disputes. If you and your child’s other parent cannot reach an agreement on custody, the court will use this standard and impose a plan of its own choosing. You want to avoid this, as no judge will understand all the details of your children’s life as well as you do. By failing to agree on a plan, you give up control and allow a third party (the judge) to set up your custody plan.

Georgia law requires judges to consider specific factors when determining what serves your child’s best interests. These factors include:

The emotional bond between each parent and the child
Each parent’s ability to provide love, guidance, food and medical care
The stability of each home environment
Continuity of your child’s school, friends and community connections
Any history of substance abuse, domestic violence or criminal activity

The court weighs all of these factors together to determine what arrangement will best support your child’s wellbeing.

The court also considers your child’s preference, depending on their age:

Ages 11–13: The judge may consider the child’s wishes as one factor among many, but no legal presumption applies.
Ages 14 and older: Your child can sign an election expressing which parent they prefer to live with, creating a strong legal presumption in favor of that parent unless the court finds them unfit

The judge can still override your child’s choice if it goes against their best interests, but the court takes the child’s preference very seriously at age 14 and up.

You don’t want this because the judge will not have to live with your plan. You will. And so will your children. We can help you work with your child’s other parent and put together a parenting plan that will work well with your family and your life circumstances.

Parenting Plans For Georgia Child Custody

A parenting plan is a detailed written agreement that outlines how you and your child’s other parent will share responsibilities and time with your children. Georgia law requires these plans in all custody cases, and they become part of your final divorce decree or custody order.

You want to create a custody plan that is realistic and workable. You and your children must live with this plan every day until they reach adulthood. A parenting plan that recognizes and respects the realities and needs of the children will work best.

Your parenting plan must address several key elements:

Physical custody and schedule: Where your child will live day-to-day, how you’ll handle holidays and school breaks, who handles transportation between homes and arrangements for summer vacations, birthdays and special occasions
Legal custody and decision-making: Authority over healthcare, education, religion and extracurricular activities. If you choose joint legal custody, you must designate a final decision-maker (tiebreaker) for each category in case you disagree
Communication: How you and your child’s other parent will communicate about schedules, school events and your child’s needs, plus how your child will stay in contact with the noncustodial parent through phone calls, video chats or text messages

These elements work together to create a complete roadmap for raising your children across two households.

Joint physical custody allows both parents to be fully engaged with their children’s lives, but this is where the scheduling needs to recognize the reality of your situation.

If one parent has a job that demands frequent travel every month or has rotating shifts every week, it is unlikely that a 50-50 sharing of time is possible. Nonetheless, there are a wide variety of scheduling options possible and when the parents are willing to cooperate and maintain a civil relationship, the children will benefit.

Modifications Of Child Custody In Atlanta

The plan you create is likely to change. When your children are young, they have different needs and different schedules. A plan that is ideal for preschoolers is likely to be very different from the one that works with busy teenagers. Additionally, children 14 years or older can have a say in where they want to live. A court still must approve, but they are permitted a custody election.

If you need to modify your custody arrangement, Georgia law requires you to show a “material change in circumstances” that affects your child’s welfare. Common examples include:

A parent’s job relocation
Serious school performance issues
Safety concerns in one parent’s home
A significant change in a parent’s living situation

The court won’t modify custody just because you’re unhappy with the current arrangement. You must prove that conditions have changed enough to justify a new plan.

Relocation disputes often trigger modification requests. If the primary custodial parent wants to move out of state or across Metro Atlanta, this can significantly impact the other parent’s visitation time. Georgia law requires the relocating parent to provide advance notice and, in many cases, seek court approval before moving with the child.

If your child’s other parent refuses to follow the custody order (whether by denying you visitation or ignoring decision-making terms), you can file a Motion for Contempt. The court can enforce the order and impose penalties on the parent who violated it. This includes makeup visitation time, attorney’s fees or other sanctions.

These remedies help ensure that both parents follow the custody order and protect your relationship with your children.

By creating a plan that is robust and flexible, you can minimize your conflict and court costs.

Doing What Is Best For Your Children

Parents are often concerned about the effect a divorce will have on their children. Research tends to indicate that it is more the conflict, stress and tension that results from the failed relationship of the parents than simply the separation. You will need to make sacrifices for your children, but all parents must accept that, divorced or not.

By keeping a cooperative relationship with your child’s other parent, you can stay in control. Parents who choose a ‘scorched-earth’ policy and never cooperate will likely have to live with court-imposed custody arrangements, and it will often be less than optimal. Judges like parents who work together and he or she is likely to be far more agreeable to parents who behave in this manner.

Our attorneys understand that there are cases where one parent is unwilling to work toward the best interests of the children, and we have the litigation skills to help you and protect your children in such cases.

Contact Our Atlanta Child Custody Firm

Children and divorce bring many challenges. We can help you develop a custody agreement you need and that is in your children’s best interest. To speak to a lawyer in our Atlanta office, please contact us today at 770-215-0947.