December, 2018 was another slow month for family law-related case law. Only one custody related case, one other family law-related case, and lots of dismissals of appeals were released by the Court of Appeals. Jackson v. Brown, Case No. A18A2097, Georgia Court of Appeals, December 13, 2018. Facts: Brown (mother) filed a complaint to modify custody..Read more

This month, I review cases released earlier in 2018 since the Georgia appellate courts released no new custody and visitation or family law related cases in November. From the months before I began sending these case law updates, I have selected a handful of cases that have an important impact on our custody practices. Enjoy!..Read more

Brumbelow v. Mathenia, et al., Case No. A18A1117, Georgia Court of Appeals, October 4, 2018. Facts: Mathenia gave birth to Brumbelow’s son, but voluntarily relinquished her parental rights at birth to a couple who planned to adopt him. Although Brumbelow initially denied that he was the child’s father, when he learned of the pending adoption..Read more

Roberts v. Roberts, Case No. A18A1163, Georgia Court of Appeals, September 21, 2018. Facts: Grandfather had grandparent visitation with the minor child. The Father denied visitation and was held in contempt and was ordered to allow “compensatory visitation” for Grandfather. Subsequently, Father continued to withhold visitation, and he and the minor child moved outside of..Read more

Jones v. Ahmad, Case No. A18A1236, Georgia Court of Appeals, August 16, 2018. Facts: The parties had joint legal custody of their minor child, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Jones had primary physical custody, and Ahmad had visitation rights. Jones filed a modification of custody action because she wanted to move to Ohio,..Read more