A Georgia parenting plan must cover six subjects, and a seventh when a parent is in the military, unless the court orders otherwise or the parents agree otherwise.
The Required Contents
Under OCGA 19-9-1(b)(2), a parenting plan “shall include, but not be limited to”:
- where and when the child will be in each parent’s physical care, “designating where the child will spend each day of the year”;
- how holidays, birthdays, vacations, school breaks, and other special occasions are divided, “including the time of day that each event will begin and end”;
- transportation, including where and how the child is exchanged and who pays;
- whether any parenting time must be supervised, and how;
- which parent decides the child’s education, health, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and, if those decisions are joint, how disagreements get resolved; and
- any limits on contacting the child, or on getting school, health, activity, and religious information, while the child is with the other parent.
If a parent is in the military, OCGA 19-9-1(b)(2)(G) adds how the child’s care will be handled during and after a deployment.
There Is a Statewide Form
Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.10 says a plan “must at a minimum contain the information required by OCGA ยง 19-9-1 (b) and be presented in substantially the following form,” and the form is printed in the rule itself. Gwinnett County Superior Court’s case management standing order adds that its clerk’s Permanent Parenting Plan form satisfies the requirement.
A Plan Can Fail for Leaving Something Out
In Eldridge v. Eldridge, 291 Ga. 762 (2012), the trial court’s plan gave the father weekend visitation but did not say when the weekends began and ended. The Georgia Supreme Court sent it back “to supply the day and time weekend visitation begins and ends.”
Unless the court orders otherwise, every plan must also recognize four points, covered in our post on whether a judge can reject a custody agreement.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!