A Georgia adoption decree shifts the duty of support to the adoptive parent and ends the biological parent’s duty going forward, but it does not erase support already past due.
What the Decree Does
Under OCGA 19-8-19(a)(2), an adoption decree “shall create the relationship of parent and child between each petitioner and the adopted individual, as if the adopted individual were a child of biological issue of that petitioner.” Under OCGA 19-8-19(a)(1), it also terminates “all legal relationships” between the child and the former parent.
The Adoptive Parent Owes Support Like Any Parent
In Grand v. Hope, 274 Ga. App. 626 (2005), a stepfather adopted his wife’s two daughters, was ordered to pay their support when the marriage ended, then sued his ex-wife for fraud to recover what he had spent. The Court of Appeals held that from the adoption he “became and still remains the legal parent” of the girls, so he could not “recover child rearing expenses and child support costs for which he was under a legal obligation to pay.”
The Biological Parent’s Duty Ends Only Going Forward
In Sample v. Poteralski, 169 Ga. App. 448 (1984), a father owed $3,725 in arrears when the mother’s new husband adopted his child, and argued the adoption wiped out the debt. The Court of Appeals disagreed: the decree “operates prospectively to terminate appellant’s obligation for the support of his natural child,” but “it has no such retrospective operation. Such arrearages are still due and owing.”
Likewise, in Wannamaker v. Carr, 257 Ga. 634 (1987), a father had promised in the divorce agreement to pay his children’s college expenses. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the promise ended with the adoption, because such duties “flow from the parental status of the parties,” while pre-adoption arrears were still owed.
Only the final decree does this; a signed surrender or termination order does not. That rule, and stepparents who have not adopted, have their own posts.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!