After earlier appellate proceedings concerning custody of Laura Steedley’s seven-year-old child, the trial court awarded Steedley primary physical custody while granting the child’s maternal grandmother, Diane Gilbreth, a schedule of visitation and requiring the two to cooperate as though they shared custody. The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that the trial court had improperly created a joint-custody arrangement between a fit parent and a grandparent. Georgia law permits certain relatives to seek custody in appropriate circumstances, but joint legal custody is reserved for parents when a parent is suitable. The trial court also had not made the clear-and-convincing findings required before awarding statutory grandparent visitation based on harm to the child and the child’s best interests. The appellate court reversed and remanded with direction to award the mother sole legal and physical custody. It explained that the decision did not prevent the grandmother from separately seeking visitation through the proper statutory mechanism.