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Child Support and Child Custody Facts

 
The Georgia Department of Human Resources, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE)enforces parental responsibility to pay financial support for children.

OCSE services include:
  • Establishing and enforcing child support orders
  • Assistance with locating non-custodial parents
  • Confirming paternity
  • Collecting and distributing payments
OCSE also provides two programs dedicated to increasing non-custodial parent involvement in a child’s life. These two programs are called the Georgia Fatherhood Services Network and the Access and Visitation Program.

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Child Support

In Georgia, both parents are liable for the support of their minor children. Therefore, the court may order child support from either parent, based on the child’s needs and the parents’ ability to pay. There are specific Georgia Child Support Guidelines, designed to be in the best interests of the child, that the courts use to determine the amount of child support.

The process for Georgia Child support is as follows

Step 1: Opening a Child Support Case

To open a case, either parent can call Child Support Services (CSS) and schedule an appointment. Anyone who gets help from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program or receives certain Medicaid benefits can get help from CSS without having to apply. Others must complete an application form and pay an application fee

Step 2: Locating the Non-custodial Parent

To get a support order, establish paternity or enforce a child support order, CSS must know where the non-custodial parent lives and/or works. It may take several months to get child support if you do not know where the other parent lives or if the address is out of state.

Step 3: Establishing Paternity

Paternity means legal fatherhood. Before the court can order child support and medical support, paternity must be established. If the parents were not married when the child was born, the biological father can be made the legal father by an administrative or court order. If the man is unwilling to admit paternity, the mother must sign a paternity affidavit before genetic testing and/or a court hearing can be scheduled.

Step 4: Establishing a Support Order

A child support order is established based on the Georgia Child Support Guidelines

You can apply for Georgia Child Support by clicking

http://ocss.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/site/DHR-OCSE/

Calculators and Workshetts for child support can be found here:

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Child Custody
 
In Georgia, the court will make child custody decisions based on what is in the "best interest" of the child if the parents can't come to an agreement. In deciding whether to grant sole or joint custody, the court may consider various factors, including:
  • The fitness, character, personality and general health of the parents
  • The wishes of the parents, if they are determined to be fit
  • The wishes of the child, after taking into consideration the child's age and maturity
  • The ability of the parents to communicate with each other
  • The prior and continuing care the parents have given the child
  • Any history of domestic abuse

If there is a history of domestic abuse, the court will presume joint custody is not in the best interest of the child.

After the custody order is signed by the judge and filed with the court clerk, both parents are bound by it. It a parent is denied court-ordered access to a child, he or she may bring the issue back before the court. The judge may decide to modify the visitation order, order makeup visitation for the time missed or order counseling or mediation.

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