In Georgia, generally, minor children above the age of 14 can decide which parent they want to live with. However, there are safeguards in place to protect minors from their own wrong choices. There are many considerations, but here are three major considerations that are being discussed for this article.
The first consideration is that the court still has the right and duty to determine if the chosen parent is a fit parent to have primary custody. The court also has a duty to determine that the choice is in the best interest of the child.
The second consideration is that a Guardian Ad Litem may be appointed to investigate consideration one: Is the chosen parent a fit parent to have custody and is awarding that parent primary phsycial cusotdy in the best interest of the child.
The third consideration is each parent’s actions in attempting to influence the minor child’s selecton. Consideration one, two, and three are all interrelated. The minor child should not be influenced to make a certain selection. An argument can be made that such influence could nullify the selection.
An election by a minor child is important in reaching a ruling and determination by the court, but it can be overrode if certain criteria is met. Each parent should behave responsbility and take the child’s well-being into consideration. It is another opportunity in the journey of parenthood to set an examaple.
Call Lunn Law LLC and schedule a detailed consultaiton if you are in a child custody case where you need legal assistance. If obtaining primary custody of your child is important to you then you should defintely retain an experienced child custody attorney. You can reach Lunn Law LLC at 770-492-2974.
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Attorney Tiffany Lunn of Lunn Law LLC: Georgia Family Law Blog 