Sole custody gives one parent both the child’s home and the major decisions about the child, while primary physical custody describes only where the child lives.
What the Statute Says
Under OCGA 19-9-6(11), sole custody means a person “has been awarded permanent custody of a child by a court order.” Unless the order provides otherwise, that person “shall have the rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child,” and the other parent “shall have the right to visitation or parenting time.” Exercising visitation does not make a parent a sole legal custodian.
Primary Physical Custody
The custody statute mentions “primary physical custody” alongside joint and sole physical custody, OCGA 19-9-3(i)(2)(A), but the definitions in OCGA 19-9-6 do not include it. It concerns where the child lives, not who decides. Paired with joint legal custody, it leaves the major decisions shared unless the order gives one parent the final say, as our post on joint legal custody explains. For child support, what counts is where the child actually resides, as our post on joint custody and child support explains.
Joint Custody Is Not Required
There is “no presumption in favor of any particular form of custody.” OCGA 19-9-3(a)(1). In Baldwin v. Baldwin, 265 Ga. 465 (1995), the juvenile court found both parents fit and equally capable of caring for the child and concluded joint custody was not in the child’s best interest, but ordered it anyway because it read the Court of Appeals’ earlier decision in the case as requiring it. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed, holding that a court in that situation “is not required to enter such an order unless it specifically finds that to do so would be in the best interest of the child.”
If You Never Married
When the parents never married, OCGA 19-7-25 gives the mother custody unless the father legitimates the child, as our posts on an unmarried mother’s rights and on legitimation explain.
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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!