O.C.G.A.
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
As used in this article, the term: (1) “Legal custody” means the responsibility for the care and control of a minor, including, but not limited to, the power to make decisions regarding health care, education, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing. (2) “Physical custody” means the custody schedule established for the child pursuant to Code Section 19-9-1, which includes parenting time.
History
Ga. L. 1978, p. 1957, § 3; Ga. L. 2019, p. 904, § 1/SB 190.
Annotations
Law reviews. For survey article on domestic relations cases for the period from June 1, 2002
through May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 223 (2003). For annual survey of domestic relations cases, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 173 (2005). For article, “2019 Legislative Review,” see 24 Ga. St. B.J. 28 (June 2019).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS “Legal guardian.” - Grandmother was not a “legal guardian” of a child within the meaning of O.C.G.A. § 19-9-22 or O.C.G.A. § 15-11-13. Stills v. Johnson, 272 Ga. 645, 533 S.E.2d 695, 2000 Ga.
LEXIS 542 (2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1087, 121 S. Ct. 804, 148 L. Ed. 2d 691, 2001 U.S. LEXIS 370 (2001). Change in visitation is form of change in child custody. Tirado v. Shel-
nutt, 159 Ga. App. 624, 284 S.E.2d 641, 1981 Ga. App. LEXIS 2777 (1981). When the mother had legal custody, it was error for the trial court to indirectly effect a change in custody by modifying a visitation schedule so that the father was given more custody time than the mother. Kennedy v. Adams, 218 Ga. App. 120, 460 S.E.2d 540, 1995 Ga. App. LEXIS 663 (1995).
It was not error for a trial court to order a custody evaluation in a visitation dispute because: (1) O.C.G.A. § 19-9-22(1) included visitation in the definition of “custody”; and (2) O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3(a)(7) authorized the court to order an evaluation. Gottschalk v. Gottschalk, 311 Ga. App. 304, 715 S.E.2d 715, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 665 (2011).
RESEARCH REFERENCES C.J.S. 2 C.J.S., Adoption of Persons, § 47. 39
C.J.S., Guardian and Ward, §§ 51, 52. 67A C.J.S., Parent and Child, §§ 167, 168.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
31
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1984–2025 · leading case:
Stills v. Johnson, 533 S.E.2d 695 (Ga. 2000).
Stills v. Johnson, 533 S.E.2d 695 (Ga. 2000).
· cites it 8× “She is not a “legal custodian” of the child pursuant to OCGA §§ 19-9-22 (2) or 15-11-43. 7 These code sections provide that a legal custodian is one who has been given legal custody by court order.”
Alvarez v. Sills, 365 S.E.2d 97 (Ga. 1988).
· cites it 8× “" OCGA § 19-9-22 (2). (Emphasis supplied.) Under the terms of the act, legal custody is not conferred by an agreement.”
Dallow v. Dallow, 791 S.E.2d 20 (Ga. 2016).
· cites it 2× “” OCGA § 19-9-22 (2). To avoid confusion with the term “legal custodian” as used in other areas of family law, we will refer to the CCIJA legal custodian as the “primary physical custodian.”
Vines v. Vines, 739 S.E.2d 374 (Ga. 2013).
· cites it 2× “In several enumerations of error, Thomas argues the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motion to modify the visitation rights afforded him in the trial court’s 2007 order.”
Moore v. Moore-McKinney, 678 S.E.2d 152 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009).
· cites it 2× “4 Before the 2007 amendment, OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2) included [alppeals from judgments or orders in divorce, alimony, child custody, and other domestic relations cases including, but not limited to, granting or refusing a divorce or temporary or permanent alimony, awarding or…”
Dunbar v. ERTTER, 718 S.E.2d 350 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011).
· cites it 4× “OCGA § 19-9-22 (2). We render no opinion on the juvenile court’s order in the deprivation case entered pursuant to OCGA § 15-11-58.”
Oglesby v. Deal, 716 S.E.2d 749 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011).
· cites it 2× “(citing OCGA § 19-9-22 (2)). Because Oglesby has only temporary custody of G.”
Johnson v. Johnson, 721 S.E.2d 92 (Ga. 2012).
· cites it 2× “Acting pursuant to this Court’s Pilot Project, by which we granted all non-frivolous applications for discretionary review of a final judgment and decree of divorce, we granted Father’s application for *360 discretionary review.”
Smith v. Curtis, 730 S.E.2d 604 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012).
· cites it 2× “OCGA § 19-9-22 (1) defines “custody” as including visitation rights.”
Selvage v. Franklin., 829 S.E.2d 402 (Ga. Ct. App. 2019).
· cites it 2× “5 While the father does not appeal the trial court's order to the extent it awards sole physical and legal custody to the mother, OCGA § 19-9-22 (1) defines "custody" as including visitation rights.”
Bullington v. Bullington, 351 S.E.2d 700 (Ga. Ct. App. 1986).
· cites it 6× “The statute in issue here is OCGA § 19-9-22 (2) which provides that “ ‘Legal custodian’ means a person, including, but not limited to, a parent, who has been awarded permanent custody of a child by a court order.”
Gottschalk v. Gottschalk, 715 S.E.2d 715 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011).
· cites it 2× “OCGA § 19-9-22 (1) defines “custody” as including visitation rights, and OCGA § 19-9-3 (a) (7) authorizes the trial court to order a psychological custody evaluation of the family.”
— 19-9-22(2) — 2 cases
Stills v. Johnson, 533 S.E.2d 695 (Ga. 2000).
“She is not a “legal custodian” of the child pursuant to OCGA §§ 19-9-22 (2) or 15-11-43. 7 These code sections provide that a legal custodian is one who has been given legal custody by court order.”
Dunbar v. ERTTER, 718 S.E.2d 350 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011).
“OCGA § 19-9-22 (2). We render no opinion on the juvenile court’s order in the deprivation case entered pursuant to OCGA § 15-11-58.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.