Quick answer: After a Georgia divorce, custody can be modified when there is a material change in circumstances affecting the child, and child support can be modified when there is a substantial change in either parent’s income and financial status or the child’s needs (O.C.G.A. §§ 19-9-3, 19-6-15). Periodic alimony can be revised under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-19. Columbus attorney Scot Sikes handles modification cases.
Columbus Georgia Divorce Lawyer
Post-Decree Modifications
Future is always unpredictable. It is very much possible that after a divorce your circumstances may change and this is when post decree modifications for divorce related issues such as child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, visitation etc can be requested for.
Modifying Spousal Support and Child Support
Spousal support and child support are determined after giving considerable thought to and calculating obligor’s financial position as well as ability to pay and the financial needs of the oblige. If there has occurred changes in circumstances modification is warranted. These changes have to be significant in order for request of modification to be considered by the court. The changed circumstances have to be discussed with a knowledgeable family law attorney in your state in order to decide whether you changed circumstances are significant enough.
Modification of Child Custody and Parenting Time
All states rule with best interests of child as supreme factor in issues related to children involved in a divorce. The best interest of child is determined in the following way:
• In the event where two or more parties are seeking custody the court has to weigh all the options carefully like the wishes of parties concerned, reasonable preference of child, primary care taker of child, intimacy and level of relationship between child and each party, interactions of child and parties or siblings and other relatives who can affect the child significantly, adjustment to home, school, community; desirability to maintain continuity of stable environment experienced till then, permanence of proposed home, physical as well as mental health of people concerned, capacity of claiming parties to provide child with love, guidance, education, culture, religion etc; child’s original cultural background etc.
• The court makes detailed findings on all mentioned aspects and each of them are scrutinized and analyzed so as to draw conclusions and determine custody and support in best interest of child.
• Court does not give preference to parents on custody if they do not satisfy factors mentioned.
• Court is not authorized to prefer a parent or guardian on basis of gender of third party.
• The marital status of parents of child should not be determinative of custody of child.
• Court is not authorized to take into consideration general conduct of custodian, but should pass judgment based on relationship of custodian with child.
Unless and until court finds that there is intentional interference or denial of parenting time or time allotted could endanger the child physically or emotionally, parenting time modifications can be requested for. The plausibility of reasons stated for requesting modifications should be verified with an experienced divorce attorney.
Related Columbus Family Law Guides
- Georgia’s 2026 child support changes
- Contempt and enforcement of court orders
- Relocation, PCS orders and custody
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgia’s 2026 child support change automatically modify my order?
No. Since January 1, 2026, the state calculator applies a Parenting Time Adjustment and a Low-Income Adjustment, but existing orders stay in effect until a court modifies them. A parent must file for modification.
Can I change custody if my teenager wants to live with me?
A child who is 14 or older may choose the parent to live with, and that choice can itself support a modification unless the judge finds it is not in the child’s best interests (O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3).
Can I stop paying support while I wait for a modification?
No. The current order stays due until a judge signs a new one, so file promptly after a job loss or other change.
More answers: Columbus, GA and Fort Benning family law FAQ.
About the author. Scot Sikes founded the Law Offices of Scot Sikes in Columbus, Georgia, in 2006. He earned his J.D. at Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law, was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1999, and served as an Army judge advocate (trial counsel, Senior Defense Counsel and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate) before retiring from the U.S. Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel in 2017. His practice centers on family law, military divorce and military family law in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, and courts have qualified him as an expert witness on dividing military property in divorce. Read Scot Sikes’s full profile. Law Offices of Scot Sikes, 5 Bradley Park Court, Suite 101, Columbus, GA 31904 · 706-494-6900.
Last updated November 2026. Sources: O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3 (custody and visitation); O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15 (child support guidelines); O.C.G.A. § 19-6-19 (modifying alimony); Georgia Child Support Commission: changes effective 1/1/2026. This page is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice for your situation.