How to File for Child Custody in Georgia: Forms, Fees, and Hearings

To file for child custody in Georgia, you start with a petition in the Superior Court of the county that has jurisdiction over your child, attach a proposed parenting plan and (if support is at issue) a child support worksheet and financial affidavit, pay the filing fee, and then formally serve the other parent. From there the case moves through a response period, often mediation, sometimes a temporary hearing, and eventually a final order in which the judge applies Georgia’s best-interests factors. The specific path differs a bit depending on whether custody is part of a divorce or a standalone case between unmarried parents, but the core forms and steps are the same.

Confirm Georgia Is the Right State to File In

Before you draft anything, check that Georgia has jurisdiction. Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, a Georgia court can make an initial custody determination only if Georgia is the child’s home state, meaning the child has lived here with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before filing. For a baby under six months old, the home state is where the child has lived since birth.1Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-61 – Jurisdiction Requirements for Initial Child Custody Determinations

If your child moved to Georgia recently, you may need to wait until the six months are up. Narrow exceptions exist when no other state qualifies or the other state’s court declines jurisdiction, but the home-state rule controls in most cases. Filing in the wrong state gets the case dismissed.

Where to File

Custody cases are filed in Superior Court.2Georgia.gov. File for Child Custody For a standalone custody case, you generally file in the county where the child has been living. If custody is part of a divorce, venue is typically the county where the other spouse resides, and the custody request is folded into the divorce petition rather than filed on its own.

The Forms You’ll Need

Petition for Custody

The case starts with a petition that identifies both parents and the child by full legal name and date of birth, lists current and prior addresses, and states the custody arrangement you’re asking the court to order. Be specific. A petition that requests “custody” without describing legal custody, physical custody, and a proposed schedule gives the judge less to work with and gives the other parent more room to reframe the case.

Georgia recognizes both legal custody (major decisions about education, healthcare, religion, and extracurriculars) and physical custody (where the child lives), and either can be awarded as sole or joint. There is no presumption favoring one arrangement or either parent.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Determinations

Parenting Plan

Georgia law requires a parenting plan in every custody case. Each parent may file one, or the parents may file jointly, and the final custody order must incorporate a permanent plan. The statute lists what the plan must cover:4Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans

  • A daily schedule showing where and when the child is with each parent, covering every day of the year.
  • How holidays, birthdays, vacations, and school breaks are divided, with specific start and end times.
  • How the child is exchanged between parents, where exchanges happen, and who pays transportation costs.
  • Which parent has authority over education, healthcare, extracurriculars, and religious upbringing, and how disagreements are resolved if authority is shared.
  • Whether any parenting time requires supervision.
  • Any limits on the other parent’s contact with the child or access to records during the other parent’s custodial time.

If either parent is in the military, the plan must also address custody transitions during deployment, how the deployed parent maintains contact, and whether extended family can exercise parenting time on the deployed parent’s behalf.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans

Child Support Worksheet

If child support is on the table (and it almost always is), you’ll complete a child support worksheet using Georgia’s income shares model. The calculation combines both parents’ gross monthly incomes, subtracts certain adjustments like preexisting support orders and self-employment taxes, and applies a statutory table based on combined income and number of children. Health insurance premiums for the child and work-related childcare are added on top and split proportionally.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-6-15 – Child Support Guidelines for Determining Amount of Award

The Administrative Office of the Courts publishes an online calculator that populates the worksheet, but you still need both parents’ income documentation ready to file.

Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit

Under Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2, the party requesting support must file and serve a domestic relations financial affidavit at least 15 days before any temporary or final hearing involving child support. The affidavit is sworn and requires detailed disclosure: gross and net monthly income, assets, monthly household expenses, debts, and insurance.6Augusta Bar Association. Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2 and Financial Affidavit

Pull recent pay stubs, tax returns, and W-2s before you start. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure can lead to sanctions and hurt your credibility with the judge.

Filing Fees and Serving the Other Parent

Take the originals and at least two copies of your documents to the Superior Court Clerk. The clerk keeps the originals and returns stamped copies. Filing fees for civil cases in Georgia Superior Court run roughly $218 or more depending on the county, so call ahead to confirm. If you can’t afford the fee, you can submit an affidavit of poverty asking the court to waive it.

After filing, you must formally deliver the papers to the other parent. Georgia allows service by the county sheriff or deputy, a court-appointed process server, or a certified private process server. Sheriff service is inexpensive; private process servers generally charge between $20 and $200 depending on how hard the other parent is to find. If the other parent will cooperate, they can sign a waiver acknowledging receipt of the papers, which saves the service cost. The waiver has to be properly executed to be valid.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 9-11-4 – Process

What Happens After You File

The Other Parent’s Response

Once personally served, the other parent generally has 30 days to file a written answer. They will typically file their own proposed parenting plan and, if they want a different arrangement, a counterclaim. If they don’t respond, the court can enter a default judgment granting what you requested.

Mediation

Georgia courts can refer contested custody cases to mediation, where a neutral mediator helps both parents work toward an agreement on custody, visitation, and support. Mediation is confidential; nothing said in session can be used against either parent at trial. Many judicial circuits treat mediation as a required step before a contested case can reach a hearing, though the court must first screen the case for appropriateness. Family violence cases are excluded.8Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules A successful mediation produces a written agreement that the judge approves and adopts as the order. A partial agreement still narrows what the judge has to decide.

Temporary Orders

While the case is pending, either parent can ask for a temporary hearing. A judge will enter a temporary order covering custody, visitation, and support until the final order issues. Temporary orders aren’t a formal preview of the final outcome, but they matter. Once a child has been living under a temporary arrangement for months, courts favor stability, and that can make the temporary schedule harder to change at the final hearing.

Guardian ad Litem

In contested or complex cases, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate and advocate for the child’s best interests. A GAL typically interviews the child, both parents, teachers, doctors, and extended family, visits each home, and reviews school and medical records. The GAL’s report and recommendations are weighed as part of the best-interests analysis.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Determinations The court can order either parent or both to pay the GAL’s fees in whatever proportion it considers fair. If a GAL is appointed, cooperate. Judges take these recommendations seriously.

The Final Hearing

If the parents can’t reach a full agreement, the case goes to a bench trial. Both sides present evidence, call witnesses, and argue for the arrangement they want. The judge applies the statutory best-interests factors and issues a final order incorporating a permanent parenting plan, child support, and anything else the court considers necessary. That order is enforceable immediately and stays in place until modified or until the child reaches adulthood.

How Georgia Judges Decide Custody

Georgia judges evaluate custody using a list of factors set out in the statute. No factor automatically wins; the weight given to each depends on your family’s facts. Those factors include:3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Determinations

  • The love, affection, and emotional ties between each parent and the child, and between the child and siblings or stepsiblings.
  • Each parent’s ability and willingness to provide guidance, education, food, clothing, medical care, and daily needs.
  • How familiar each parent is with the child’s specific needs, routines, and personality.
  • The stability and safety of each parent’s home, with emphasis on nurturing rather than material wealth.
  • How long the child has lived in a stable environment and whether disrupting it is justified.
  • Each parent’s support network of family, friends, and community.
  • The mental and physical health of each parent.
  • Each parent’s involvement in the child’s education, social life, and activities.
  • Each parent’s work schedule and ability to be present.
  • Whether each parent will encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent.
  • Any history of family violence, child abuse, criminal conduct, or substance abuse.

Judges take that co-parenting factor seriously. A parent who badmouths the other parent, withholds visitation, or undermines the child’s relationship with the other parent damages their own case.

The Child’s Voice

Once a child turns 14, the child has the right to select which parent to live with, and the court will honor that choice unless the selected parent is found not to be in the child’s best interests. A 14-year-old’s selection can also support modifying an existing order, though the child can make this election only once every two years. Children between 11 and 13 can express a preference the judge must consider along with the child’s educational needs, but the preference is not controlling at that age, and a younger child’s preference alone is not a material change in circumstances for modification purposes.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Determinations

Parenting Seminars

Georgia law lets each judicial circuit require parents in a custody case to attend an approved parenting education seminar.9Columbia County, GA. Parenting Seminar Page Not every circuit mandates it, but many do. Seminars cover the impact of custody disputes on children, co-parenting communication, and age-appropriate ways to talk with your child about changes. They typically cost between $25 and $170 and are often available online. Ask the Superior Court clerk in your county early in the process whether a seminar is required and which providers are approved.

Modifying the Order Later

Custody orders can be modified, but not easily. To change the custody arrangement itself, the parent asking for the change must show a material change in conditions or circumstances affecting the child. Routine disagreements or second thoughts don’t clear that bar. Examples that can qualify include a parent relocating, a significant change in health or living situation, evidence of abuse or substance use, or a substantial evolution in the child’s needs.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Determinations

Visitation schedules have a slightly easier path: the court can review and adjust visitation without proof of a material change, but only once every two years from the date of the order. Outside that window, you’re back to needing a material change. The best-interests standard applies to every modification decision.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-3 – Establishment and Review of Child Custody Determinations A modification petition is filed with the court that has continuing jurisdiction over the case, which may not be the county where you now live.

Watch What You Post

Anything you post online can end up in front of the judge. Photos, status updates, check-ins, and even private messages are regularly introduced as evidence in contested cases. A weekend trip photo can be reframed as instability. A vent post about your co-parent can be used to argue you can’t co-parent. Screenshots survive privacy settings, and mutual friends talk. During a custody case, assume everything you post or send could be printed out and handed to the judge, and act accordingly.