Q: What do I need to do to make my son who is now 15 living with me legal?

A: You need to hire an attorney to file a modification of custody and support.

A: If you have a child support order in your name and the child now lives with you, I would hire an attorney to file for a modification of custody, and ask for a temporary hearing, for the court to award you temporary physical custody. The mother may come and get the child back once she is served. But at the temporary hearing you can tell the court why you should have primary physical custody of the minor child. If the court determines there should be a change of custody, they will dismiss your child support order and may order the other parent to pay you support. Also, the child is old enough to tell the Court where they would like to live, so that will work in your favor if the child is willing to put that in writing.

A: You need to file a modification for custody and child support.

A: In Georgia, the non-custodial parent pays child support. That means she would need to pay you child support. You would need to file for modification and child support. Please feel free to call with any other questions.

A: If there is a court order giving the mother primary physical custody and you paying child support, you should file for a modification. If you were never married and never legitimized, the only way to get a child support order dismissed is for you to file for legitimation, and ask the Court for primary physical custody of the child. You would tell the Court you want to be recognized as the legal father and to have the Court make legal the living arrangement the parties currently have. Because if the mother wants to keep receiving child support for a child that is living with you full-time, going to Court is the only way to get that Order dismissed.