Question:  My daughter doesn't want to live with my ex-wife anymore in Roswell.  She said my ex-wife drinks too much, sometimes smokes pot and has different men stay over at night. 

Sometimes I've seen my wife get very drunk around my daughter.  Lately I saw her smoke a joint with a friend in the house.  My daughter even took a video of a man leaving the house early in the morning.  The man was not my former wife's boyfriend.  One time, after my wife's tennis team had practice, the ladies were watching pornography and got so intoxicated that I was afraid more than one of them would get a DUI.

It's not a healthy environment for a 12 year old girl.  And my daughter asks me at least once a week if she can move in with me.  I want her to move in as soon as possible.  I think it would be good for her.

When can my daughter decide which parent she wants to live with?  How old does she have to be to change custody?

E.B. in Roswell, Georgia

Answer:  In Georgia, when a child turns 13 years of age, he or she can decide with which parent to live.  You need to request a hearing and submit an affidavit to the court stating your child's preference for custody. 

Only a court order can change custody.  That would be the superior court in the county where the child lives.  In your case, since she lives in Roswell that would be the Fulton County Superior Court.

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