Atlanta Child Custody Attorney
Help with Custody, Parenting Time, Visitation & More
Of all the issues that must be decided with divorce, for parents, child custody may be the most difficult. The idea of not seeing your children every day can be hard to grasp, but with many different child custody scenarios available, it is possible to work out a custody agreement—with scheduled parenting time and visitation factored in—that is in your children’s best interests and suits both parents. At The Solomon Firm, our Atlanta child custody attorneys help families achieve workable child custody arrangements, whether through mediation and negotiation proceedings or by asserting our clients’ rights and interests in court.
Georgia Child Custody Law
Two concepts form the basis of Georgia child custody law: (1) the continuity of the parent-child relationship is generally in the child’s best interest, and (2) the needs of children change and evolve as they mature. Speaking to the first concept, during the initial child custody proceedings, the court will act with your child’s best interests in mind, considering his or her health, comfort and safety, while listening to the points made by you and your child’s other parent. Then, the court may grant either sole custody or joint custody based on its findings.
With sole custody, the court may approve visitation rights for the noncustodial parent, but the noncustodial parent cannot exercise legal authority on the child’s behalf. With joint custody, the parents share in their child’s legal and physical custody, making decisions together about their child’s education, medical care, and religious upbringing, and they usually have about equal parenting time. Speaking to the second concept, a child may choose who he or she wants to live with upon reaching age 14 and may request a change in custody once every two years after that.
Developing a Parenting Plan for Child Custody
If you are sharing custody with your child’s other parent, you must include a parenting plan with your child custody agreement for the court to approve. The parenting plan should include:
- A parenting time schedule with an outline making clear who the child will spend time with for each day of the year
- An agreement about how the child will spend holidays and vacations
- A proposal for transportation arrangements and drop-off points when a child leaves one parent to visit the other
- An agreement about how a parent may contact a child when that child is in the other parent’s care
Working out a parenting plan can be challenging, as there are many factors and situations you must anticipate and consider. An experienced child custody attorney can help you evaluate and put into writing a thorough parenting plan that the court will approve.
Speak with an Experienced Atlanta Child Custody Attorney
For legal help in any child custody matter, please contact The Solomon Firm in Atlanta. Our experienced child custody attorney knows how Georgia courts work through child custody issues, and we’ll bring our knowledge to bear in your child custody case.
