Parent Decided They Want Custody After 13 Years

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Georgia

What rights does a mother have for her child after almost 14 years of caring for her child (8 years on her own) when the father decides he wants custody out of the blue. He stopped seeing (not showing up) to see child when the child was roughly 2 and didn't try to see/talk to child. Never tried to contact or care for the child.

The mother has now happily married and the child calls her husband Dad (the only dad he's known) and he has a wonderful stable family envioronment with siblings and a home. Can a father, who hasn't paid for anything voluntarily and hasn't been around, just call one day and expect to get custody?

How can the childs "real" father/dad, even if not by blood, adopt him and insure that the child's life is not uprooted with custody of a person the child does not even know?

He can certainly petition the court for visitation, but he shouldn't expect to be awarded custody. He can want custody, but all that means is that he wants it, not that he's going to get it.

People can say "I'm going to get custody!", but the courts see things just a bit differently, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the judge asked in open court "And you've been where, exactly, for the past 12 years?"

(I have personally seen this happen. When my mother tried to regain custody of me from my grandparents, the judge refused, with an incredulous "Where the HELL have you been in the last 9 years? One visit does NOT make you a mother. I am not uprooting this child from her stable home." Judges? Don't play. I love them for that.)

With respect to the adoption issue, you'll want to consult an attorney in your area (first time is usually free). Had you looked into this prior to the bio dad showing up, you could have argued for a case of abandonment and not even had to try to notify him. Now that he's back, it's going to complicate things a bit, and you'll need a pro to sort it out.