Weaver v. Jones

In Weaver v. Jones, 260 Ga. 493 (396 SE2d 890) (1990), the Supreme Court approved a self-executing provision in a divorce decree, based on an agreement between the parties, which provided that, if the parties' child chose to live with the noncustodial parent when the child reached the age of 14, then a change in custody to the noncustodial parent would automatically occur without any additional judicial scrutiny. The Supreme Court found that the trial court that issued the divorce decree "participated in the custody change by adopting the consent agreement" and "had an opportunity at that time to review and reject the proposed arrangement for a change of custody at the child's election, but ... chose to ratify it instead." Thus the Supreme Court concluded that, where both parents agreed to the provision and there were no allegations of parental unfitness, the provision served the interest of judicial economy by effecting an automatic change of custody based on the child's election. Id. at 494.