A child cannot file for a protective order in Georgia, but an adult can file for one on the child’s behalf.
Who Can File
Under OCGA 19-13-3(a), “[a] person who is not a minor may seek relief under this article by filing a petition with the superior court alleging one or more acts of family violence. A person who is not a minor may also seek relief on behalf of a minor by filing such a petition.” OCGA 19-13-1 lists parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, and foster parents and foster children among the covered relationships, so a parent’s conduct toward a child can be the family violence the order rests on.
Discipline Is Carved Out
OCGA 19-13-1 excludes “reasonable discipline administered by a parent to a child in the form of corporal punishment, restraint, or detention.” That exclusion is not an affirmative defense the accused parent has to raise. In Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731 (2012), a father petitioned on behalf of his daughters over bruising he said the mother caused. The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the order, holding it was the father’s burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the mother’s actions were not part of reasonable discipline, and that the trial court was not required to believe his evidence even though it went unrebutted.
Custody Relief Is Temporary Only
OCGA 19-13-4(a)(4) lets the court “[a]ward temporary custody of minor children and establish temporary visitation rights.” In McCarthy v. Ashment, 338 Ga. App. 858 (2016), a permanent protective order barred a father from contacting his children at all, and the trial court refused to modify it. The Court of Appeals held that was error, because a court considering a protective order has authority to change custody and visitation only temporarily.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!