Helping Obtain Equitable Custody And Support Outcomes

As you part ways with your spouse, the future of your children is also to be determined. This can be one of the most emotionally and logistically difficult aspects of a divorce. At Marsh & Frost, our Georgia family law lawyer, Jessica H. Frost, is committed to helping parents reach a child custody agreement that is in the best interests of the children while allowing optimal parenting time for both parents.

From our office in Marietta, our attorney represents clients in child custody and child support matters in Fulton County, Cobb County and Cherokee County courts.

Understanding Child Custody In Georgia

Few things feel more urgent during a divorce than knowing your children will be okay. Custody decisions shape their daily lives and your relationship with them for years, and the legal process that determines those arrangements can feel clinical and impersonal at the exact moment everything feels most personal.

Georgia law starts from a practical premise: children do best when both parents remain meaningfully involved in their lives. Courts do not begin with a preference for one parent over the other. Instead, they evaluate what arrangement will actually serve the specific child in front of them. That does not guarantee equal time or identical roles for each parent, but it does mean both parents enter the process on level footing.

The sections below walk through how Georgia structures custody, what the different arrangements mean in real life and how your child’s own preferences may come into play.

Types Of Custody In Georgia

Georgia law looks at custody in two distinct ways, and understanding both matters before any negotiation or court date arrives.

Legal Custody

Legal custody is about who gets to make the big decisions: where the child goes to school, what medical treatment they receive, how they are raised religiously and what activities they participate in. Joint legal custody is the most common outcome in Georgia, which means both parents share that authority regardless of where the child physically lives. In practice, it requires ongoing communication and a willingness to reach agreement on significant choices even after the marriage has ended.

Physical Custody

Physical custody determines where the child lives and who handles the everyday responsibilities of parenting. Some families structure this with one parent serving as the primary caregiver while the other has regular scheduled time. Others divide parenting time more evenly through a shared arrangement. What works best depends on the child’s needs, each parent’s schedule and what will provide the most stability day to day.

Joint vs. Sole Custody

Joint custody, whether legal, physical or both, reflects a court’s conclusion that active involvement from both parents serves the child well. Sole custody concentrates that authority in one parent. A common misunderstanding is that sole legal custody cuts the other parent out entirely. It does not. The non-custodial parent retains visitation rights and remains the child’s legal parent in every meaningful sense. Sole custody typically applies in more serious situations, such as cases involving domestic violence, substance abuse or a parent who is consistently unavailable.

Ms. Frost works with clients to understand which arrangement fits their circumstances and advocates for outcomes that reflect the actual needs of their children.

Your Child’s Voice: Age And Custody Preferences In Georgia

Georgia gives children a role in custody decisions, but how much weight that role carries depends on how old the child is.

For children between 11 and 13, the court must consider the child’s preference but is not required to follow it. The judge weighs the child’s wishes alongside everything else in the case and makes the final call based on what the evidence shows is in the child’s best interests.

For children 14 and older, the dynamic changes. A child of 14 may select the parent they want to live with, and Georgia courts are required to honor that choice unless doing so would not serve the child’s best interests. That is a meaningful legal distinction, not just a procedural one.

For parents of teenagers, this matters a great deal before any custody proceeding begins. A 14-year-old’s preference carries real legal weight in a Georgia courtroom. How that preference develops, how it is expressed and how it is presented in court can influence the outcome significantly. Ms. Frost helps parents understand how their child’s age factors into the process and how to approach these situations with the care they deserve.

Protecting Your Parental Rights And Relationships With Your Children

With past experience serving as a guardian ad litem, Ms. Frost has seen the difficulty these negotiations present and also how they can be sorted out. She is skilled at making recommendations to the court for creative solutions that accommodate both parents but, more importantly, best serve the children. When parents cannot reach an agreement on custody arrangements, we provide strong representation in contested child custody cases to protect your parental rights.

While she and the rest of our staff always seek to help our clients find an agreement with minimal conflict and stress for themselves or their children, when necessary, Ms. Frost is prepared to put her extensive family law litigation knowledge to work for you. With more than 30 years of experience, attorney Frost has the legal fortitude you need standing beside you.

Helping You Modify Your Plans When Necessary

In the time that follows the initial agreement, our attorney remains available to assist with modifications. From medical changes to relocations, we can help you file for modifications that will reflect the situational changes that may affect your children. Additionally, we assist parents in enforcement issues should the custody or visitation agreement be breached at any point.

We Also Protect The Rights Of Grandparents

We also assist grandparents throughout the Atlanta area in seeking custody or visitation rights. When a parent is no longer involved in a child’s life due to issues like abandonment or abuse, we will work as hard as we can on behalf of the grandparents who wish to maintain a relationship with their grandchildren. In Georgia, visitation is not guaranteed to grandparents after a divorce. We can help file the petition and gather evidence to show it is in the grandchildren’s best interests to maintain a relationship.

Contact Our Office Today To Get Help

Regardless of which parent our lawyer is representing, she is committed to helping that parent fight for the right to a healthy relationship and adequate parenting time with his or her children. Ultimately, she looks for a solution that is in the best interest of the children involved. Arrange a consultation online or call us today at 678-383-4953.