You can download Georgia’s parenting plan PDF from the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts’ self-help page or from your county Superior Court’s website. Every custody case in Georgia must include a parenting plan under O.C.G.A. § 19-9-1, whether the case is a divorce, a legitimation, or a modification, and parents either file a joint plan or each submit their own.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan Once the judge signs it, the plan becomes part of a binding court order.
Where to Download the Form
The Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts keeps a statewide self-help page with links to accepted parenting plan forms.2Georgia Courts. Parenting Plan Individual counties also publish their own. Fulton County Superior Court posts a consent parenting plan PDF on its website,3Fulton County Superior Court. Consent Parenting Plan and the Southern Judicial Circuit publishes both contested and uncontested versions.4Southern Judicial Circuit. Parenting Plan If you aren’t sure which form your county prefers, start with the state self-help page or call your Superior Court Clerk’s office.
Most counties offer at least two versions. One is a standard consent form for parents who agree on the terms. The other is an expanded form for contested cases or families that need extra provisions around safety or behavioral concerns. Pick carefully. Judges in some circuits will reject a filing that uses the wrong template.
What You Have to Fill In
O.C.G.A. § 19-9-1 sets a floor for what every Georgia parenting plan must contain.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan Leaving any required section blank is one of the fastest ways to get your paperwork sent back. The form walks you through each piece, but it helps to know what the statute is asking for before you start typing.
Decision-Making Authority
The plan has to assign decision-making power in four areas: education, health, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan For each one, state whether a single parent has final say or whether both parents must agree. If you choose joint decision-making, add a tie-breaker method such as mediation or deferring to a specified parent if talks stall. Day-to-day care and emergencies are handled by whichever parent has the child at the time, so these four categories cover the bigger calls: which school the child attends, whether to proceed with a non-emergency surgery, what activities to sign up for.
Where the Child Will Be
The statute requires parents to specify where the child will be on every day of the year.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan In practice, you lay out a recurring weekly or biweekly routine for school days and weekends. Georgia’s standardized forms give you common templates to work from, such as alternating weekends starting on Friday or every first-and-third weekend.4Southern Judicial Circuit. Parenting Plan
Holidays, birthdays, school breaks, and summer vacation each get their own section with specific start and end times.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan Most parents rotate major holidays annually. The Southern Judicial Circuit’s form splits winter break into two periods and alternates which parent gets the first half in odd versus even years.4Southern Judicial Circuit. Parenting Plan Vague language like “parents will share summer” almost guarantees a dispute. Write exact dates and times.
Transportation and Communication
You must state how the child will be exchanged, where the exchange happens, and who pays for transportation.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan Common exchange points include a parent’s home, a school, or a neutral public place like a police station parking lot. Georgia’s standardized forms default to the delivering parent being responsible for transportation unless the parties agree otherwise.4Southern Judicial Circuit. Parenting Plan
The plan also has to address how the child communicates with the other parent during custodial time, including phone calls, video chats, and any limits on contact.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan Setting specific windows for calls heads off the kind of open-ended disputes that pile up fast.
Signing and Filing
Most of Georgia’s parenting plan PDFs have fillable fields. Download the form, type your agreed-upon details into every section, and review it carefully before anyone signs. Both parents sign the document when the terms are agreed.3Fulton County Superior Court. Consent Parenting Plan Some courts and filing situations also require notarization, so check your county’s local rules first. When in doubt, notarizing is inexpensive and avoids a rejected filing.
E-filing is mandatory in most Georgia Superior Courts. The state uses two main platforms, Odyssey eFileGA and PeachCourt.5Georgia Courts. E-File Court Records You create an account on whichever platform your county uses, upload the signed PDF, and pay the filing fee. Fees vary by county and by the type of action, so check the clerk’s cost schedule before you file. Request a file-stamped copy through the e-filing system so you have proof the document was entered into the court’s permanent record.
If You and the Other Parent Can’t Agree
When you can’t reach a joint plan, each parent submits their own proposed plan and the judge decides. Georgia gives judges broad discretion to fashion a plan based on the child’s best interests, and no jury hears custody in Georgia.6Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody
Many courts refer contested custody cases to mediation before a full hearing. A judge can order both parents to attend a session, though the order cannot force a settlement. If mediation fails, the case goes to a hearing, each parent presents evidence, and the judge imposes a plan. That process is slower and more expensive than filing a joint plan, which is worth remembering when you’re stuck on a disagreement that may not matter as much as it feels.
How the Judge Reviews Your Plan
Whether the plan is agreed or contested, a judge reviews it against the best-interest standard in O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3 before signing. That statute lists 17 factors the court may consider, including the emotional bond between the child and each parent, each parent’s capacity to provide food, clothing, and medical care, the stability of the child’s home environment, work schedules, each parent’s willingness to encourage a relationship with the other parent, and any history of family violence or substance abuse. The list is non-exhaustive, so a judge can weigh anything relevant.6Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody If the judge finds your agreed plan adequate, it gets incorporated into a final court order, and from that point every term is legally binding and enforceable.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan
Changing the Plan Later
A signed parenting plan isn’t permanent, but the bar for changing it is high. To modify custody, the parent asking for the change generally has to show a material change in circumstances affecting the child’s welfare.6Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Inconvenience or dissatisfaction with the existing plan isn’t enough.
There is one exception. A judge can review and modify visitation or parenting time once every two years without requiring proof of changed circumstances. Outside that window, you file a new action and show that something significant has shifted, such as a parent’s relocation, a change in the child’s medical needs, substance abuse, or a major change in a work schedule. A parent who plans to move must also give the other parent at least 30 days’ written notice before the change, with the full address of the new residence.6Justia. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Any modification uses the same best-interest standard as the original plan.