No. Georgia parents cannot waive their child’s support, and a judge must reject an agreement that sets support below the guidelines without the required findings.
A Waiver Is Void
In Collins v. Collins, 172 Ga. App. 748 (1984), a divorce decree contained a mutual waiver of child support. When the State later sought reimbursement for public assistance, the Court of Appeals held the waiver void: “One parent cannot contract away the right of a child to be supported by the other parent.”
In Worthington v. Worthington, 250 Ga. 730 (1983), a father paid $10,000 for a release of all support claims for his child born out of wedlock. The Georgia Supreme Court held that children “are not property, and absent a clear legislative declaration otherwise their support rights may not be bartered away by their parents.”
Below the Guidelines
OCGA 19-6-15(c)(6) allows an agreement “contrary to the presumptive amount of child support,” but if it “does not comply with the provisions contained in this Code section and does not contain findings of fact as required to support a deviation, the court shall reject such agreement.”
In Holloway v. Holloway, 288 Ga. 147 (2010), a wife who had reviewed the agreement with her lawyer accepted support $18 below the guideline amount, with no findings. The Supreme Court held it should have been rejected: “a self-interested agreement made by a parent cannot override this purpose.”
What Parents Can Agree To
Parents may agree to more. In Kendrick v. Childers, 267 Ga. 98 (1996), an automatic five percent annual increase was enforceable because “parents are free to exceed this level of support for their children.” And under Nelson v. Mixon, 265 Ga. 441 (1995), a paying parent “may waive his or her right to seek a reduction,” even though “the parents cannot bargain away the child’s right to seek increases.”
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