§ 19-9-1.Parenting plans; requirements for plan

Chapter 9. Child Custody Proceedings · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2016 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-9-1 requires a parenting plan in every Georgia case where parents dispute custody, lists what the plan must cover — from the daily schedule and holidays to decision-making and military deployment — and lets the judge adopt one parent’s plan if the other never files one and the judge finds that plan serves the child’s best interests.

Full Text of § 19-9-1

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c)

(a) Except when a parent seeks emergency relief for family violence pursuant to Code Section 19-13-3 or 19-13-4, in all cases in which the custody of any child is at issue between the parents, each parent shall prepare a parenting plan or the parties may jointly submit a parenting plan. It shall be in the court's discretion as to when a party shall be required to submit a parenting plan to the court. A parenting plan shall be required for permanent custody and modification actions and in the court's discretion may be required for temporary hearings. The final order in any legal action involving the custody of a child, including modification actions, shall incorporate a permanent parenting plan as further set forth in this Code section; provided, however, that unless otherwise ordered by the court, a separate court order exclusively devoted to a parenting plan shall not be required.

(b)

(1) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a parenting plan shall include the following:

(A) A recognition that a close and continuing parent-child relationship and continuity in the child's life will be in the child's best interest;

(B) A recognition that the child's needs will change and grow as the child matures and demonstrate that the parents will make an effort to parent that takes this issue into account so that future modifications to the parenting plan are minimized;

(C) A recognition that a parent with physical custody will make day-to-day decisions and emergency decisions while the child is residing with such parent; and

(D) That both parents will have access to all of the child's records and information, including, but not limited to, education, health, health insurance, extracurricular activities, and religious communications.

(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, or agreed upon by the parties, a parenting plan shall include, but not be limited to:

(A) Where and when a child will be in each parent's physical care, designating where the child will spend each day of the year;

(B) How holidays, birthdays, vacations, school breaks, and other special occasions will be spent with each parent including the time of day that each event will begin and end;

(C) Transportation arrangements including how the child will be exchanged between the parents, the location of the exchange, how the transportation costs will be paid, and any other matter relating to the child spending time with each parent;

(D) Whether supervision will be needed for any parenting time and, if so, the particulars of the supervision;

(E) An allocation of decision-making authority to one or both of the parents with regard to the child's education, health, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and if the parents agree the matters should be jointly decided, how to resolve a situation in which the parents disagree on resolution;

(F) What, if any, limitations will exist while one parent has physical custody of the child in terms of the other parent contacting the child and the other parent's right to access education, health, extracurricular activity, and religious information regarding the child; and

(G) If a military parent is a party in the case:

(i) How to manage the child's transition into temporary physical custody to a nondeploying parent if a military parent is deployed;

(ii) The manner in which the child will maintain continuing contact with a deployed parent;

(iii) How a deployed parent's parenting time may be delegated to his or her extended family;

(iv) How the parenting plan will be resumed once the deployed parent returns from deployment; and

(v) How divisions (i) through (iv) of this subparagraph serve the best interest of the child.

(c) If the parties cannot reach agreement on a permanent parenting plan, each party shall file and serve a proposed parenting plan on or before the date set by the court. Failure to comply with filing a parenting plan may result in the court adopting the plan of the opposing party if the judge finds such plan to be in the best interests of the child.

End

Plain-English Summary

Whenever parents are fighting over custody of a child, Georgia wants a written parenting plan. Each parent prepares one, or the parents can submit one together. A plan is required for permanent custody and modification cases; for a temporary hearing, the judge decides whether to require one. The judge also decides when the plan is due. The one exception is a parent seeking emergency family-violence relief under § 19-13-3 or § 19-13-4 — that parent doesn’t have to stop and draft a plan first.

The plan has two layers. Unless the court orders otherwise, it must include four statements of principle: that a close, continuing relationship with each parent serves the child; that the child’s needs will change as the child grows; that the parent with physical custody makes day-to-day and emergency decisions while the child is with that parent; and that both parents can see all of the child’s records, including school, health, insurance, activity and religious records. Then, unless the court orders or the parents agree otherwise, the plan must spell out the practical details: where the child will spend each day of the year, how holidays, birthdays, vacations and school breaks are divided (with start and end times), how exchanges and travel costs work, whether any parenting time is supervised, who makes decisions about education, health, extracurricular activities and religion — and how joint decision-makers break a tie — and any limits on contact or access to information.

When a parent is in the military, the plan must also address deployment: how the child moves to the other parent, how the child stays in touch with the deployed parent, whether that parent’s time can be delegated to extended family, how the plan resumes afterward, and why those arrangements serve the child.

If the parents can’t agree, each must file and serve a proposed plan by the court’s deadline. A parent who doesn’t file risks the judge adopting the other parent’s plan, if the judge finds it serves the child’s best interests. Every final custody order, including a modification order, must incorporate a permanent parenting plan, though a separate order devoted only to the plan isn’t required unless the court says so. The section was last amended in 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a parenting plan for a Georgia custody case?

Yes, in almost every case. Whenever custody is at issue between parents, each parent prepares a plan, or the parents file one together. A plan is required for permanent custody and modification actions, and the judge may require one for a temporary hearing. The only exception the section names is a parent seeking emergency family-violence relief under § 19-13-3 or § 19-13-4. The judge sets the deadline for submitting the plan.

What has to be in a Georgia parenting plan?

Unless the court orders or the parents agree otherwise, the plan must show where the child will be each day of the year; how holidays, birthdays, vacations and school breaks are split, with start and end times; transportation and exchange arrangements and who pays; whether any time is supervised; who decides questions of education, health, extracurricular activities and religion; and any limits on contact or access to information. It must also include four statements of principle, such as both parents’ right to the child’s records.

What happens if I don’t file a parenting plan in Georgia?

The judge may adopt the other parent’s plan. When parents can’t agree, each must file and serve a proposed plan on or before the date the court sets. If one parent fails to file, the court can adopt the opposing parent’s plan — but only if the judge finds that plan is in the child’s best interests. Filing on time keeps your own proposal in front of the judge.

Who makes everyday decisions under a Georgia parenting plan?

The parent the child is living with at the moment. Unless the court orders otherwise, every plan must recognize that a parent with physical custody makes day-to-day decisions and emergency decisions while the child is residing with that parent. Bigger decisions — education, health, extracurricular activities and religious upbringing — are allocated in the plan to one or both parents, and a plan with joint decision-making must say how disagreements get resolved.

What must a parenting plan say if a parent is in the military?

If a military parent is a party, the plan must address deployment. It covers how the child transitions into temporary physical custody with the nondeploying parent, how the child keeps in contact with the deployed parent, how the deployed parent’s parenting time may be delegated to extended family, how the plan resumes when the deployment ends, and how each of those arrangements serves the child’s best interest. Section 19-9-3(i) adds detailed deployment rules.

Amendment History

Laws 1957, p. 412, § 1; Laws 1962, p. 713, § 1; Laws 1976, p. 1050, § 1; Laws 1978, p. 258, § 2; Laws 1983, p. 632, § 1; Laws 1984, p. 22, § 19; Laws 1986, p. 1000, § 1; Laws 1986, p. 1036, § 1; Laws 1988, p. 1368, § 1; Laws 1992, p. 1656, § 1; Laws 1995, p. 863, § 5; Laws 1999, p. 329, § 3; Laws 2000, p. 1292, § 1; Laws 2007, Act 264, § 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Laws 2011, Act 68, § 2, eff. May 11, 2011; Laws 2013, Act 171, § 2, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2016, Act 362, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016.

Formerly Code 1863, § 1685; Code 1868, § 1728; Code 1873, § 1733; Code 1882, § 1733; Civil Code 1895, § 2452; Civil Code 1910, § 2971; Code 1933, § 30-127.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

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