Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ March 17, 2014 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A1071. ILSE PADILLA v. WILLIAM W. FISHER, II Ilse Padilla filed a petition seeking a change in child custody. The trial court entered an order appointing a forensic evaluator, and Padilla filed this direct appeal.1 “Generally, an order is final and appealable when it leaves no issues remaining to be resolved, constitutes the court’s final ruling on the merits of the action, and leaves the parties with no further recourse in the trial court.” Thomas v. Douglas Co., 217 Ga. App. 520, 522 (1) (457 SE2d 835) (1995). The order appointing a forensic evaluator in this case was not a final, directly appealable order.2 Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 03/17/2014 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,__________________ 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.

Padilla also filed an interlocutory application from this ruling, which was docketed as A14I0118. The application was denied on February 20, 2014.

Because the order did not award, modify, or refuse to modify custody, it may not be appealed directly. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11).