Yes. Once paternity is established, a Georgia court can order the father of a child born out of wedlock to reimburse the mother for support back to the child’s birth.
The Duty Starts at Birth
In Weaver v. Chester, 195 Ga. App. 471 (1990), the Court of Appeals adopted the rule that a judicial determination of paternity “is merely a procedural prerequisite to the enforcement of the duty by legal action. The father’s duty to support his child arises when the child is born.” The duty itself is covered in our paternity posts.
How the Amount Is Measured
Under Weaver, the award cannot exceed “the expenses actually incurred by her on the child’s behalf.” And under Smith v. Carter, 305 Ga. App. 479 (2010), the court must “follow the Child Support Guidelines, which would include at least a consideration of the custodial parent’s income, the noncustodial parent’s income, and other child support obligations of the parents.” In Smith, a father earning a third of the mother’s income had been ordered to pay $70,224, nearly all she had spent over twelve years; that award was vacated.
Defenses That Do Not Work
In Day v. Mason, 357 Ga. App. 836 (2020), the father argued that the mother had accepted his partial payments and waited until he filed for legitimation. The Court of Appeals held that laches does not apply and found no authority “for the proposition that a father’s payment of partial support before the establishment of paternity insulates him from subsequent liability for the remainder of his share.”
The award remains discretionary. In Anderson v. Cribbs, 367 Ga. App. 355 (2023), the trial court declined retroactive support because both parents had covered the child’s expenses while she was with them, and that was affirmed.
Married Parents
OCGA 19-7-24 reaches only children born out of wedlock, so in Perkins v. Perkins, 347 Ga. App. 345 (2018), a $67,672 reimbursement award in a divorce was vacated.
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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!