A parent’s move can lead a Georgia court to change custody, but only if the judge finds it would materially change the child’s circumstances.
A Move Can Be a Change
In Bodne v. Bodne, 277 Ga. 445 (2003), the parents shared time equally, with the father as primary custodian. Planning a move to Alabama, he asked to adjust the mother’s visitation; she counterclaimed for primary custody. Hearing that losing regular contact with her would harm the children, the trial court found “a substantial change in a material condition affecting the children’s welfare” and gave her primary physical custody, which the Georgia Supreme Court upheld. Our post on moving out of state covers Bodne’s no-presumption rule and the notice a move requires.
But Not Automatically
In Brazil v. Williams, 359 Ga. App. 487 (2021), a father with primary custody moved from Milledgeville to Michigan, and the mother sought custody, arguing the move itself was a material change. The trial court disagreed, since the parents had lived two hours apart and the flight now took under two hours. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding nothing in Bodne suggesting that an out-of-state move “automatically and necessarily constitutes a material change in circumstances.”
The Court Need Not Wait
In Gallo v. Kofler, 289 Ga. 355 (2011), a mother with primary custody announced a move to New York, and the father asked for custody. After hearing that the child was thriving in Georgia and that moving could harm the father-child relationship, the trial court gave him primary custody. The Supreme Court affirmed: the court was not “required to wait until Mother actually moved to New York.”
No Automatic Switch for a Move
In Scott v. Scott, 276 Ga. 372 (2003), a divorce decree switched primary custody to the father automatically if the mother moved out of Cobb County. The Supreme Court ordered it set aside, holding that a clause ignoring the child’s best interests when the change occurs “violates this State’s public policy.”
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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!