O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 19-8-6 (2019)

Stepparent adoption

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section GA-LEGlegis.ga.gov (official) JustiaJustia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a)(1) A child whose legal father and legal mother are both living but are not still married to each other may be adopted by the spouse of either parent only when the other parent voluntarily and in writing surrenders all of his or her rights to the child to that spouse for the purpose of enabling that spouse to adopt the child and the other parent consents to the adoption and, when there is any guardian of that child, each such guardian has voluntarily and in writing surrendered to such spouse all of his or her rights to the child for the purpose of such adoption.

(2) A child who has only one parent still living may be adopted by the spouse of that parent only if that parent consents to the adoption and, when there is any guardian of that child, each such guardian has voluntarily and in writing surrendered to such spouse all of his or her rights to the child for the purpose of such adoption.

(b) In the case of a child 14 years of age or older, the written consent of the child to his or her adoption shall be given and acknowledged in the presence of the court.

(c) The surrender of rights specified in this Code section shall be executed following the birth of the child under oath and in the presence of a notary public and an adult witness. A copy of the surrender shall be provided to the individual signing the surrender at the time of the execution thereof.

(d) An individual signing a surrender of rights pursuant to this Code section shall have the right to revoke such surrender within four days as provided in subsection (a) of Code Section 19-8-9.

(e)(1) The surrender of rights by a parent or guardian specified in subsection (a) of this Code section shall meet the requirements of subsection (e) of Code Section 19-8-26. Such surrender shall be signed under oath and in the presence of a notary public and an adult witness.

(2) A biological father who is not a legal father of a child may surrender all his rights to the child for purposes of an adoption pursuant to this Code section. Such surrender shall meet the requirements of subsection (d) of Code Section 19-8-26. Such surrender shall be signed under oath and in the presence of a notary public and an adult witness.

(f) A surrender of rights shall be acknowledged by the individual who surrenders those rights by also signing an acknowledgment meeting the requirements of subsection (g) of Code Section 19-8-26. Such acknowledgment shall be signed under oath and in the presence of a notary public and an adult witness.

(g)(1) A legal mother who surrenders her parental rights or consents to the adoption of her child by her spouse pursuant to this Code section shall execute an affidavit meeting the requirements of subsection (h) of Code Section 19-8-26. Such affidavit shall be signed under oath and in the presence of a notary public.

(2) A legal mother who is the adoptive mother of the child and who surrenders her parental rights pursuant to this Code section shall execute an affidavit meeting the requirements of subsection (i) of Code Section 19-8-26. Such affidavit shall be signed under oath and in the presence of a notary public.

(h) Whenever rights are surrendered pursuant to this Code section, the representative of each petitioner or the representative of the individual signing such surrender shall execute an affidavit meeting the requirements of subsection (k) of Code Section 19-8-26. Such affidavit shall be signed under oath and in the presence of a notary public.

(i) A surrender of rights or consent pursuant to this Code section may be given by any parent or biological father who is not a legal father of the child regardless of whether such individual is a citizen of the United States, a resident of this state, or has reached the age of 18 years. Such surrender or consent given by such individual shall be binding upon him or her as if the individual were in all respects sui juris and shall include a consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state for any action filed under this article. Such surrender shall state that such individual agrees to be bound by a decree of adoption.

(j) The parental consent by the spouse of a stepparent seeking to adopt a child of that spouse and required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall meet the requirements of subsection (l) of Code Section

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 73 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1983–2026 · leading case: Thorne v. Padgett, 386 S.E.2d 155 (Ga. 1989).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Thorne v. Padgett, 386 S.E.2d 155 (Ga. 1989). · cites it 62× “The former wife's new husband, appellee David Padgett, filed a petition to adopt the child pursuant to OCGA § 19-8-6 (b). Thorne received notice of the adoption petition, and filed objections to it.”

McCurry v. Harding, 606 S.E.2d 639 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 16× “He contends that the petition originated under the provisions of OCGA § 19-8-6 (a) (l), 1 because “the biological parents of the children were married, and then divorced, but are still living,” and thus, the mother was required to include an affidavit with the adoption petition…”

Griffith v. Brooks, 389 S.E.2d 246 (Ga. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 22× “11 of this order shows a large portion was struck through by the trial court and appears in full with the judge’s initials set out beside each strike-through, as follows: “The natural father has failed to provide support within the terms of OCGA § 19-8-6 (b) (2) and the…”

Maynard v. Brown, 622 S.E.2d 901 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 10× “, his ten-year-old stepson, pursuant to OCGA§ 19-8-6 (a) (1), which governs adoptions by a stepparent, 1 and OCGA § 19-8-10 (b) (1), which provides that Surrender of rights of a parent pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 19-8-6 .”

Jones v. Sauls, 443 S.E.2d 693 (Ga. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 10× “” It is not enough that a substantial failure be shown to have existed for the requisite statutory period; unless it can also be shown that such failure was without justifiable cause, surrender of parental rights under OCGA § 19-8-6 (a) or § 19- *57 8-7 (a) would still be…”

In re C. N. W., 560 S.E.2d 1 (Ga. 2002). · cites it 22× “3 The second is if the “biological father” is not a “parent” for the purpose of OCGA § 19-8-1 (8) under the foregoing circumstances, may a stepfather to the child of the “biological father” adopt his spouse’s child pursuant to OCGA § 19-8-6 (a) (2) 4 even if the child’s *766…”

Smith v. Soligon, 561 S.E.2d 850 (Ga. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 4× “Attached to Soligon’s petition was the mother’s affidavit regarding the biological father, pursuant to OCGA § 19-8-26, and the parental consent to stepparent adoption, under OCGA § 19-8-6. Five days after being served with the adoption petition, on November 6, 2000, Smith filed…”

Arrington v. Hand, 388 S.E.2d 52 (Ga. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 12× “See OCGA § 19-8-6 (b). 1. Appellants contend that the trial court erred in failing to accept, as a matter of law, that they were the child’s paternal grandparents.”

Hooper Et Al. v. Hedgepath, 796 S.E.2d 779 (Ga. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 7× “] Construing this statute according to its plain meaning, 8 a petitioner pursuing an adoption and consequent termination of parental rights under OCGA § 19-8-6 or § 19-8-7 may do so by proving the requirements outlined in either OCGA § 19-8-10 (a) or (b), as both of those…”

Ray v. Denton, 628 S.E.2d 180 (Ga. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 4× “, his five-year-old stepdaughter, based upon OCGA§ 19-8-6 (a) (1), governing adoptions by a stepparent, and OCGA § 19-8-10 (b), which provides: Surrender of rights of a parent pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 19-8-6 .”

Cowdell v. Doe, 483 S.E.2d 347 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 14× “He filed a petition for stepparent adoption pursuant to OCGA § 19-8-6 (a) (1), but neither paragraph (1) nor paragraph (2) of subsection (a) fit the circumstances because the child does not have a “legal father and legal mother” and there is no contention or evidence that the…”

Smallwood v. Davis, 664 S.E.2d 254 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “OCGA § 19-8-6 (a) (1) provides that a child whose legal father and mother are living, but not married to each other, may be adopted by the spouse of either parent only when the other parent voluntarily surrenders his or her rights to the child.”

Show all 73 citing cases →

— 19-8-6(a) — 1 case

In Re Cnw, 560 S.E.2d 1 (Ga. 2002).

— 19-8-6(a)(1) — 2 cases

Johnson v. Taylor, 665 S.E.2d 49 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008).

Damien Brooks v. Tatum Eichfeld (Ga. Ct. App. 2026).

— 19-8-6(a)(2) — 2 cases

Wheeler v. Wheeler, 642 S.E.2d 103 (Ga. 2007).

In Re Cnw, 560 S.E.2d 1 (Ga. 2002).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.