Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ October 15, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A27D0188. ELIZABETH ALCAZAR ROMERO v. JOSHUA A. MAGDZAK. The parties in this case are married and share a minor child. After Joshua Magdzak filed a divorce action in Florida, Elizabeth Romero filed a petition in Georgia, seeking a custody determination under the emergency jurisdiction provisions of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), OCGA § 19-9-40 et seq. The trial court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction, and Romero filed a timely application for discretionary appeal from that order. Ordinarily, appeals of orders in domestic relations cases must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. See OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(2); Schmidt v. Schmidt, 270 Ga. 461, 461–62(1) (510 SE2d 810) (1999), disapproved on other grounds by Gilliam v. State, 312 Ga. 60, 64 (860 SE2d 543) (2021). Under OCGA § 5-6-34(a)(11), however, “[a]ll judgments or orders in child custody cases awarding, refusing to change, or modifying child custody” are directly appealable. The issue raised on appeal determines whether a direct appeal is proper in a child custody case. Voyles v. Voyles, 301 Ga. 44, 46–47 (799 SE2d 160) (2017). Here, the issue raised on appeal is the trial court’s refusal to exercise jurisdiction over a custody dispute under the UCCJEA, which is a custody ruling within the meaning of the discretionary application statute. See Gorelik v. Gorelik, 346 Ga. App. 786, 787 n.1 (815 SE2d 330) (2018) (stating in dicta that a right of direct appeal exists from a trial court order declining to exercise jurisdiction under the UCCJEA); Bowman v. Bowman, 345 Ga. App. 380, 381 n.4 (811 SE2d 103) (2018) (same as to trial court order finding jurisdiction under UCCJEA and awarding temporary custody); Plummer v. Plummer, 305 Ga. 23, 24 (823 SE2d 258) (2019) (permitting direct appeal from a trial court order dismissing a father’s custody modification action on jurisdictional grounds). The trial court’s order in this case is therefore subject to direct appeal. This Court will grant a timely application for discretionary appeal if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35(j). Accordingly, Romero’s application is hereby GRANTED. She shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court, if she has not already done so. See OCGA § 5-6-35(g). The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/15/2026 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written. , Clerk.