TITLE 19 DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Section 8. Adoption, 19-8-1 through 19-8-43.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS (EFFECTIVE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1, 2018)

19-8-1. (Effective September 1, 2018) Definitions.

For purposes of this article, the term:

"Alaskan native" means a member of the Alaska Native Regional Corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA).
"Biological father" means a male who impregnated the biological mother resulting in the birth of the child.
"Biological parent" means a biological mother or biological father.
"Child" means an individual who is under 18 years of age and who is sought to be adopted.
"Child-placing agency" means an agency licensed as a child-placing agency pursuant to Chapter 5 of Title 49.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Evaluator" means a person or agency that conducts a home study.An evaluator shall be a child-placing agency, the department, or a licensed professional with at least two years of adoption related professional experience, including a licensed clinical social worker, licensed master social worker, licensed marriage and family therapist, or licensed professional counselor; provided, however, that when none of the foregoing evaluators are available, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate to conduct a home study.
"'Guardian" means an individual appointed as a:
1. Guardian or temporary guardian of a child as provided in Title 29;
2. Guardian of a child pursuant to Code Section 15-11-13; or
3. Permanent guardian of a child as provided in Part 13 of Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 15.
"Home study" means an evaluation by an evaluator of a petitioner's home environment for the purpose of determining the suitability of such environment as a prospective adoptive home for a child.Such evaluation shall consider a petitioner's physical health, emotional maturity, financial circumstances, family, and social background and shall conform to the rules and regulations established by the department for child-placing agencies for adoption home studies.
"Home study report" means the written report generated as a result of the home study.
"Legal father" means a male who has not surrendered or had terminated his rights to a child and who:
1. Has legally adopted such child;
2. Was married to the biological mother of such child at the time such child was born or within the usual period of gestation, unless paternity was disproved by a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction;
3. Married a legal mother of such child after such child was born and recognized such child as his own, unless paternity was disproved by a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
4. Has legitimated such child by a final order pursuant to Code Section 19-7-22.
"Legal mother" means a female who is the biological or adoptive mother of the child and who has not surrendered or had terminated her rights to the child.
"Native American heritage" means any individual who is:
1. A member of a federally recognized American Indian tribe; or
2. An Alaskan native.
"Out-of-state licensed agency" means an agency or entity that is licensed in another state or country to place children for adoption.
"Parent" means a legal father or a legal mother of the child.
"Petitioner" means an individual who petitions to adopt or terminate rights to a child pursuant to this article.
"Putative father registry" means the registry established and maintained pursuant to subsections (d) and (e) of Code Section 19-11-9.

(Code 1981, §19-8-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1686, § 4; Ga. L. 2008, p. 667, § 7/SB 88; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 2-2/HB 228; Ga. L. 2011, p. 573, § 1/SB 172; Ga. L. 2016, p. 304, § 9/SB 64; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159.)

Delayed effective date.

- For information as to the delayed amendment of this article, see the delayed effective date note at the beginning of this article.

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, rewrote paragraph (6).

The 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, rewrote this Code section.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2008, p. 667, § 1/SB 88, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Care of a Grandchild Act.'"

Ga. L. 2008, p. 667, § 2/SB 88, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "The General Assembly finds that:

"(1) An increasing number of relatives in Georgia, including grandparents and great-grandparents, are providing care to children who cannot reside with their parents due to the parent's incapacity or inability to perform the regular and expected functions to provide such care and support;

"(2) Parents need a means to confer to grandparents or great-grandparents the authority to act on behalf of grandchildren without the time and expense of a court proceeding; and

"(3) Providing a statutory mechanism for granting such authority enhances family preservation and stability."

Ga. L. 2016, p. 304, § 18/SB 64, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall not be construed to affect a voluntary acknowledgment of legitimation that was valid under the former provisions of Code Section 19-7-21.1, nor any of the rights or responsibilities flowing therefrom, if it was executed on or before June 30, 2016."

Law reviews.

- For annual survey of domestic relations law, see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 221 (2004).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Bona fide resident.

- Phrase bona fide resident, as used in O.C.G.A. § 19-8-3(a)(3), requires a showing of status as a state of Georgia domiciliary for at least six months immediately before the filing of the petition for adoption with domicile referring to a single fixed place of abode with the intention of remaining there indefinitely, or the single fixed place of abode where a person intends to return, even though the person may in fact be residing elsewhere. Sastre v. McDaniel, 293 Ga. App. 671, 667 S.E.2d 896 (2008).

"Guardian."

- Grandmother who was temporary legal custodian of child under juvenile court deprivation order was not a legal guardian for purposes of surrendering rights in adoption proceedings. Edgar v. Shave, 205 Ga. App. 337, 422 S.E.2d 234 (1992).

"Legal father."

- Maternal great aunt and uncle had standing to file objections to an adoption petition of aunt and uncle who had obtained a written surrender of rights from the child's putative biological father; the latter was not the "legal father" as defined by O.C.G.A. § 19-8-1. Echols v. Cochran, 214 Ga. App. 348, 447 S.E.2d 700 (1994).

Plaintiff was the legal father of a child under O.C.G.A. § 19-8-1 because the plaintiff was married to the mother at the time of the child's birth, before the marriage was declared void. Hall v. Coleman, 242 Ga. App. 576, 530 S.E.2d 485 (2000).

Mother failed to rebut the presumption of legitimacy raised by a child's birth during the marriage pursuant to O.C.G.A. §§ 19-7-20 and19-8-1(6) (now (11)) since the mother and husband knew that another man was the biological father of the child, the husband was listed with the mother's consent on the child's birth certificate as the child's father and had always provided financial and emotional support for the child, and since, if the husband had attempted to rebut the presumption of legitimacy the husband would have still been required to make child support payments. Baker v. Baker, 276 Ga. 778, 582 S.E.2d 102 (2003).

Adoptive parents.

- Limiting language of O.C.G.A. § 19-7-3(b), forbidding original actions for grandparent visitation if the parents are together and living with the child, includes adoptive parents because in the absence of language limiting the term "parent" to only "natural parents" or "biological parents," there is no legislative intent to withhold from adoptive parents the same constitutionally protected status enjoyed by biological parents to raise their children without state interference; in construing § 19-7-3(b), the definition of parent in the adoption statute, O.C.G.A. § 19-8-1(6) and (8) (now (11) and (15)), which gives full legal status to adoptive parents, cannot be ignored, and the clear intent of the adoption statute is to give adoptive parents full legal rights. Bailey v. Kunz, 307 Ga. App. 710, 706 S.E.2d 98 (2011), aff'd, 290 Ga. 361, 720 S.E.2d 634 (2012).

Grandmother was not a "parent" of the child within the meaning of O.C.G.A. § 19-8-1 or O.C.G.A. § 19-11-3(7). Stills v. Johnson, 272 Ga. 645, 533 S.E.2d 695 (2000).

Cited in In re Adoption of D.J.F.M., 284 Ga. App. 420, 643 S.E.2d 879 (2007); Ray v. Hann, 323 Ga. App. 45, 746 S.E.2d 600 (2013); Parker v. Stone, 333 Ga. App. 638, 773 S.E.2d 793 (2015).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

1B Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, Adoption, § 3.

ALR.

- "Wrongful adoption" causes of action against adoption agencies where children have or develop mental or physical problems that are misrepresented or not disclosed to adoptive parents, 74 A.L.R.5th 1.

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