Worley v. Whiddon

In Prater v. Wheeler, 253 Ga. 649 (322 SE2d 892) (1984), this court established the right of a 14-year-old to choose whether to visit the noncustodial parent. We also held that the right could not be exercised in the absence of a court order modifying visitation rights of the noncustodial parent. The court’s opinion in Prater was based on OCGA §§ 19-9-1 (a) and 19-9-3 (a), which give the child of 14 the right to select the custodial parent.

Following Prater the legislature added this sentence to OCGA §§ 19-9-1 (a) and 19-9-3 (a): “Nothing in this Code section shall be interpreted to deny the…