Scott v. Scott, 276 Ga. 372

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that a divorce decree provision automatically transferring primary physical custody upon the custodial parent's relocation outside Cobb County was invalid. The court ruled that self-executing custody changes must give paramount consideration to the child's best interests at the time of the proposed change and repudiated contrary precedent approving automatic changes based on remarriage or relocation. The judgment was reversed, with direction to set aside the provision.

Holdings

1. A self-executing custody-change provision that automatically transfers custody upon relocation, without requiring a determination of the child's best interests at the time of the proposed change, violates Georgia public policy as expressed in OCGA § 19-9-3 and is invalid.
2. Weaver and Pearce do not authorize the provision because those cases involved self-executing changes designed to accommodate a child's statutory right to select a custodial parent, not automatic transfers triggered by relocation or remarriage that disregard the child's best interests.
3. An initial finding that relocation would detrimentally affect the child does not validate an automatic custody transfer because the child's best interests must be determined from the circumstances existing when custody modification is sought.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a divorce decree may provide for an automatic change of custody upon the custodial parent's relocation without a later judicial determination of the child's best interests.
2. Whether the relocation-triggered custody provision was permissible under Weaver v. Jones and Pearce v. Pearce.
3. Whether the trial court's finding in the original decree that relocation would be detrimental to the child made the self-executing provision valid.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded