Equality of Parents: The Foundation of Custody Determination
Every custody question in Georgia begins with Article 1197 of the Civil Code of Georgia: parents have equal rights and duties with respect to their children, and a child has the right to live and grow up in a family. These two propositions together create the framework within which every decision on custody must be made. Neither parent holds a statutory presumption of advantage, and the child's interest in living and being raised in a family environment is the value that all participants in the process are obliged to protect.
In practical terms, this means that a dispute over custody is not a distribution of "ownership" over the child. The law places parents on an equal starting position, and before both the negotiating table and the court the same question stands: which arrangement corresponds to the best interests of the particular child. This is why a well-prepared claim or agreement is built on the logic of the child's needs rather than on the personal desires of a parent.
The Child's Place of Residence Upon Divorce
Article 1201 of the Civil Code governs the question of a minor child's place of residence. If, because of divorce or for another reason, the parents live separately, it depends on their agreement who will have the right to decide with whom the minor child must live. An agreement between the parents is the faster and less burdensome route, although its substance must still rest on the child's interests rather than on the convenience of the adults.
If the parents cannot agree, the dispute concerning with whom the minor child must live is decided by the court, taking into account the best interests of the child. The same norm adds an important procedural safeguard: in such a case the parent's right to act as the child's representative in relation to that court dispute is suspended, and the guardianship and care body appoints a representative for the child who protects the child's interests during the court consideration of the case. This mechanism gives the child an independent voice in proceedings in which the parents stand on opposite sides.
Rights and Duties of Divorced or Separated Parents
Article 1202 of the Civil Code states emphatically that parents equally have all rights and duties with respect to their children, regardless of the fact that they are divorced or live separately. Divorce does not dissolve the legal basis of the parent-child relationship: it changes the parents' relationship with each other, not their relationship with the child. Education, health, development and everyday decision-making remain, in principle, a shared parental domain.
The second part of this article is particularly important in practice: the parent with whom the child lives has no right to restrict the rights and duties of the other parent. Where one parent in fact blocks the other parent's contact with the child, the affected parent has lawful means of protection; the procedure for exercising those means is defined by other provisions of the legislation, and their timely use often determines the outcome of the whole dispute.