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2018 Georgia Code 19-7-24 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 19 DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Section 7. Parent and Child Relationship Generally, 19-7-1 through 19-7-54.

ARTICLE 2 LEGITIMACY

19-7-24. Parents' obligations to child born out of wedlock.

It is the joint and several duty of each parent of a child born out of wedlock to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of the child until the child reaches the age of 18 or becomes emancipated, except to the extent that the duty of one parent is otherwise or further defined by court order.

(Orig. Code 1863, § 1749; Code 1868, § 1789; Code 1873, § 1798; Code 1882, § 1798; Civil Code 1895, § 2508; Civil Code 1910, § 3027; Code 1933, § 74-202; Ga. L. 1972, p. 494, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 466, § 44; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1720, § 7; Ga. L. 2006, p. 141, § 5/HB 847.)

Cross references.

- Parents' obligation to child, generally, § 19-7-2.

Law reviews.

- For article on 2006 amendment of this Code section, see 23 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 79 (2006).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Statutory scheme relating to illegitimate children and remedies available to state require support from both parents and both are subject to criminal prosecution. Hudgins v. State, 243 Ga. 798, 256 S.E.2d 899 (1979).

Liability for period prior to paternity adjudication.

- Trial court erred in refusing to award back support to the mother of a child for those periods prior to an adjudication of paternity when she had been supporting the child without the benefit of public assistance payments. Weaver v. Chester, 195 Ga. App. 471, 393 S.E.2d 715 (1990).

Both parents are responsible for illegitimate child's support.

- Although under common law an illegitimate child was the legal responsibility only of the mother, the statute also made the father responsible for the child's support. Thorpe v. Collins, 245 Ga. 77, 263 S.E.2d 115 (1980).

Strict construction as to liability of father of illegitimate child.

- Statutes imposing liability on illegitimate child's father for child's support and education, being in derogation of common law, must be strictly construed. Washington v. Martin, 75 Ga. App. 466, 43 S.E.2d 590 (1947).

Support when alleged father is deceased.

- Because at the time of father's death child's mother was in the process of establishing deceased as child's father for the purpose of obtaining child support and because father had responsibly fulfilled his child support obligations to his other child, the child had a reasonable expectation that the deceased father would fulfill his statutorily imposed obligation to support her as well. In re Adventure Bound Sports, Inc., 858 F. Supp. 1192 (S.D. Ga. 1994).

Civil action by mother of illegitimate child for child support.

- Mother of an illegitimate child may maintain a civil action to compel the father to support the child. Poulos v. McMahan, 250 Ga. 354, 297 S.E.2d 451 (1982); Evans v. State, 178 Ga. App. 1, 341 S.E.2d 865 (1986); Coxwell v. Matthews, 263 Ga. 444, 435 S.E.2d 33 (1993).

When there is an absent parent who does not provide support, and the payment of public assistance is for the support of both the dependent child and the custodial parent who is not able, without the benefit of public assistance, to provide support and maintenance for the child, it is inconsistent with both the goals of the Public Assistance Act and the Child Support Recovery Act to conclude that the payment of Aid to Families with Dependent Children imposes upon the custodial parent a debt due and owing the state under O.C.G.A. § 19-11-5. Cox v. Cox ex rel. State Dep't of Human Resources, 255 Ga. 6, 334 S.E.2d 683 (1985).

Adequate pre-natal medical care.

- Duty to protect and maintain a child includes the duty to ensure that the child receives adequate medical care prior to and during birth. Coxwell v. Matthews, 263 Ga. 444, 435 S.E.2d 33 (1993).

Health care insurance.

- In a mother's paternity suit to establish the legitimation, custody, and support of her minor child by the father, the trial court did not err in failing to require the father to pay for the child's health insurance under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-24 if not employed by the NFL. Jackson v. Irvin, 316 Ga. App. 560, 730 S.E.2d 48 (2012).

Cited in Sybilla v. Connally, 66 Ga. App. 678, 18 S.E.2d 783 (1942); Colson v. Huber, 74 Ga. App. 339, 39 S.E.2d 539 (1946); Gray v. Plummer, 87 Ga. App. 331, 73 S.E.2d 569 (1952); Pasley v. State, 215 Ga. 768, 113 S.E.2d 454 (1960); Clark v. Buttry, 121 Ga. App. 492, 174 S.E.2d 356 (1970); Simmons v. Chambliss, 128 Ga. App. 218, 196 S.E.2d 183 (1973); Warner v. Burke, 137 Ga. App. 185, 223 S.E.2d 234 (1976); Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246, 98 S. Ct. 549, 54 L. Ed. 2d 511 (1978); Parham v. Hughes, 441 U.S. 347, 99 S. Ct. 1742, 60 L. Ed. 2d 269 (1979); Nelson v. Taylor, 244 Ga. 657, 261 S.E.2d 579 (1979); State v. Causey, 246 Ga. 735, 273 S.E.2d 6 (1980); Mabry v. Tadlock, 157 Ga. App. 257, 277 S.E.2d 688 (1981); Worthington v. Worthington, 162 Ga. App. 813, 292 S.E.2d 861 (1982); Worthington v. Worthington, 250 Ga. 730, 301 S.E.2d 44 (1983); Pooler v. Taylor, 173 Ga. App. 859, 328 S.E.2d 749 (1985); Cox v. Department of Human Resources, 174 Ga. App. 377, 330 S.E.2d 120 (1985); Strickland v. State, 211 Ga. App. 48, 438 S.E.2d 161 (1993); Haddon v. Department of Human Resources, 220 Ga. App. 338, 469 S.E.2d 434 (1996); Department of Human Resources v. Mitchell, 232 Ga. App. 560, 501 S.E.2d 508 (1998).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 41 Am. Jur. 2d, Illegitimate Children, § 87 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 14 C.J.S., Children Out-of-Wedlock, § 39 et seq.

ALR.

- Criminal responsibility for abandonment or nonsupport of children who are being cared for by charitable institution, 24 A.L.R. 1075.

Nonstatutory duty of father to support illegitimate child, 30 A.L.R. 1069.

Illegitimate child as within statute relating to duty to support child, 30 A.L.R. 1075.

Civil liability of father for necessaries furnished to child taken from home by mother, 32 A.L.R. 1466.

Liability of parent for necessaries furnished to adult child, 42 A.L.R. 150.

Criminal responsibility of parent under desertion or nonsupport statutes, as affected by child's possession of independent means, or by fact other persons supply his needs or are able to do so, 131 A.L.R. 482.

Construction and application of statute charging father and mother jointly with child's care and support, 131 A.L.R. 862.

Temporary allowance for support or costs pending action or proceeding for declaration of paternity of an illegitimate child, 136 A.L.R. 1264.

Award in bastardy proceedings as provable or dischargeable in bankruptcy, 162 A.L.R. 789.

Foreign filiation or support order in bastardy proceedings, requiring periodic payments, as extraterritorially enforceable, 16 A.L.R.2d 1098.

Maintainability of bastardy proceedings by infant prosecutrix in her own name and right, 50 A.L.R.2d 1029.

Right of nonresident mother to maintain bastardy proceedings, 57 A.L.R.2d 689.

Liability of mother's husband, not the father of her illegitimate child, for its support, 90 A.L.R.2d 583.

Nature of care contemplated by statute imposing general duty to care for indigent relatives, 92 A.L.R.2d 348.

Effect of marriage of woman to one other than defendant upon her right to institute or maintain bastardy proceeding, 98 A.L.R.2d 256.

Application, to illegitimate children, of criminal statutes relating to abandonment, and nonsupport of children, 99 A.L.R.2d 746.

Validity and construction of putative father's promise to support or provide for illegitimate child, 20 A.L.R.3d 500.

Power of divorce court, after child attained majority, to enforce by contempt proceedings payment of arrears of child support, 32 A.L.R.3d 888.

Right of child to enforce provisions for his benefit in parents' separation or property settlement agreement, 34 A.L.R.3d 1357.

Death of putative father as precluding action for determination of paternity or for child support, 58 A.L.R.3d 188.

Insurance: term "children" as used in beneficiary clause of life insurance policy as including illegitimate child, 62 A.L.R.3d 1329.

Validity, construction, and application of statute imposing upon stepparent obligation to support child, 75 A.L.R.3d 1129.

Parent's obligation to support unmarried minor child who refuses to live with parent, 98 A.L.R.3d 334.

Child's right of action for loss of support, training, parental attention, or the like, against third person negligently injuring parent, 11 A.L.R.4th 549.

Right to credit on child support payments for social security or other government dependency payments made for benefit of child, 34 A.L.R.5th 447.

What voluntary acts of child, other than marriage or entry into military service, terminate parent's obligation to support, 55 A.L.R.5th 557.

Liability of father for retroactive child support on judicial determination of paternity, 87 A.L.R.5th 361.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 19-7-24

Total Results: 6  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Dep't of Human Resources v. Fleeman, 439 S.E.2d 474 (Ga. 1994).

Cited 29 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jan 31, 1994 | 263 Ga. 756, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 317

...The foregoing analysis of the Child Support Recovery Act is consistent with one of the purposes of that act which is to enforce an able parent's obligation to furnish support for his or her child. OCGA § 19-11-2; Cox v. Dept. of Human Resources, 255 Ga. 6, 7 (334 SE2d 683) (1985); see also OCGA § 19-7-24 (regarding each parent's obligation to support a child born out of wedlock)....
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Pruitt v. Lindsey, 407 S.E.2d 750 (Ga. 1991).

Cited 24 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 6, 1991 | 261 Ga. 540

...Carter, 155 Ga.App. 688, 272 S.E.2d 552 (1980). Once paternity is legally established, [2] the child is on equal footing with all other children. The child is entitled to have both parents provide for his or her "maintenance, protection, and education." OCGA § 19-7-24....
...ssisting the single parent. The law is changing. The term "bastard" has been replaced with "child born out of wedlock," and both parents have the joint and several duty to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of such children. OCGA § 19-7-24....
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Worthington v. Worthington, 301 S.E.2d 44 (Ga. 1983).

Cited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 17, 1983 | 250 Ga. 730

...nterlocutory appeal. The Court held that to the extent the mother had an individual *731 right to sue for child support she had waived that right, but also found that insofar as the contract purported to waive the child's right to support under OCGA § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...See generally 10 AmJur2d 917, Bastards, § 98; 10 CJS Bastards, §§ 40-41 (1982 Supp.). But there is also an important issue of statutory interpretation which the Court of Appeals has not addressed, i.e., the possible conflict between the voluntary discharge language of the 1974 version of § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...n agreement, other than an agreement approved by the court in accordance with this article, between an alleged or presumed father and the mother or child does not bar a petition under this Code section." OCGA § 19-7-43 (b) (Code Ann. § 74-304). If § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...§ 74-202) did not authorize contractual releases of illegitimates' support claims, then it does not conflict with § 19-7-43 (b) (Code Ann. § 74-304) and we are free both to invoke social policy and follow § 19-7-43 (b)'s (Code Ann. § 74-304) mandate, but if § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...Morgan, 215 Ga. 220 (190 SE2d 803) (1959); Bullard v. Holman, 184 Ga. 788 (2) (193 SE 586) (1937); Bank of Norman Park v. Colquitt County, 169 Ga. 534 (3) (150 SE 841) (1929). However, we need not address the retroactivity issue since as we find below § 19-7-24 (Code Ann. § 74-202) was never intended to allow parents of illegitimates to extinguish their support rights. As it existed in 1974, OCGA § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...ession on the subject we find against appellant. This is not the sole ground of our decision, however, since our conclusion is buttressed by unusually clear documentation of the statute's origins and the legislative intent behind its enactment. OCGA § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...f 1863 § 1749 contracts could operate to extinguish the child's support rights, it would have included similar language in that statute. Moreover we find that by 1974 the section of the statute concerning discharge of obligations had been repealed. Section 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...792 (294 SE2d 516) (1982); Washington v. Martin, 75 Ga. App. 466 (43 SE2d 590) (1947). Under the scheme, Ch. 74-3 provided the mechanism to compel the father to post a bond for support and education, § 74-9901 was the sanction he faced for failure to do so, and § 19-7-24 (Code Ann. § 74-202) was specifically designed as a means by which the father could avoid the *735 embarrassment and expense of a public proceeding. See Hargroves, supra at 350. Code Ann. Ch. 74-3 was repealed by Ga. L. 1973, p. 697, but § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...§ 74-202) and § 74-9901 were left on the books. This Court has recently held that § 74-9901 necessarily fell when Ch. 74-3 was repealed, Tillman, supra; accord, Dunagan v. State, 163 Ga. App. 414 (294 SE2d 633) (1982), and we now find likewise with respect to § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
...We find additional evidence for this conclusion in the fact that the General Assembly deleted any reference to contracts when it rewrote the statute in 1979. Ga. L. 1979, p. 466. But see Fender v. Fender, 249 Ga. 765, 767 (294 SE2d 472) (1982). For the reasons stated above, we hold that § 19-7-24 (Code Ann....
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Cox v. Dep't of Human Resources, 334 S.E.2d 683 (Ga. 1985).

Cited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 1, 1985 | 255 Ga. 6

...nonsupport or where the responsible parent has entered into a legally enforceable and binding agreement, the debt created shall be equal to the amount set in such decree, order, hearing, or agreement." The Court of Appeals concluded that under OCGA § 19-7-24, [2] petitioner was required to provide support to her illegitimate minor child until he reaches the age of majority....
...Applying these plain and unambiguous code sections to the plain and unambiguous facts of this case, only one question remains: Is Cox "responsible for the support of the child" within the meaning of OCGA § 19-11-5? 4. The answer to that question is provided plainly and unambiguously by OCGA § 19-7-24, as follows: "It is the joint and several duty of each parent of an illegitimate child to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of the child until he reaches the age of majority, except to the extent that the duty of one parent is otherwise or further defined by court order." (Emphasis supplied.) I am authorized to state that Presiding Justice Marshall joins in this dissent. NOTES [1] This determination is not at issue in this appeal. [2] OCGA § 19-7-24 provides, "It is the joint and several duty of each parent of an illegitimate child to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of the child until he reaches the age of majority, except to the extent that the duty of one pare...
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Gary v. Gowins, 658 S.E.2d 575 (Ga. 2008).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 10, 2008 | 283 Ga. 433, 2008 Fulton County D. Rep. 760

...To hold otherwise would stymie efforts to enforce pre-judgment obligations under such agreements and invite noncompliance with terms intended to facilitate the provision of maintenance, protection, and education to minor children whom both parties are statutorily obligated to support. See OCGA §§ 19-7-2, 19-7-24....
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Coxwell v. Matthews, 263 Ga. 444 (Ga. 1993).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 20, 1993 | 435 S.E.2d 33, 93 Fulton County D. Rep. 3382

...The parties entered into a second consent order in which they resolved issues of custody and child support, but reserved the issue of birth-related expenses for de*445termination by the trial court. The trial court concluded that Matthews is entitled to birth-related expenses under OCGA § 19-7-24, and ordered Coxwell to pay the entire amount of these expenses incurred by Matthews. The Court of Appeals denied Coxwell’s application to appeal, and we granted certiorari to determine whether medical and birth-related expenses incurred by the mother are recoverable from the father in a paternity action....
...We conclude that they are, and affirm the judgment of the trial court. We do not view this as a case involving the constitutional rights of the parents or of the unborn child. Rather we look upon this as simply a case which calls for statutory construction. Under OCGA § 19-7-24 [i]t is the joint and several duty of each parent of a child born out of wedlock to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of the child until he reaches the age of majority, except to the extent that the duty of one parent...