Georgia Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 19-8-4. Adoption Through the Department, Child-Placing Agency, or Out-of-State Licensed Agency

History. Code 1981, § 19-8-4 , enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 1999, p. 252, § 3; Ga. L. 2007, p. 342, §§ 1, 2/HB 497; Ga. L. 2016, p. 304, § 10/SB 64; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159.
The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, deleted “either a voluntary acknowledgment of legitimation pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of Code Section 19-7-22 or” following “who has executed” in subparagraph (e)(3)(D).
The 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, rewrote this Code section.
Cross references.
Termination of parental rights, § 15-11-260 et seq.
Adoption — Expediting uncontested agency adoption hearings, Ga. Unif. S. Ct. R. 47.
Editor’s notes.
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.”
For application of this statute in 2020 and 2021, see Executive Orders 04.09.20.01, 06.30.21.02, 07.22.21.02, 08.19.21.02, and 09.20.21.02.
A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders/2020-executive-orders.
Law reviews.
For article recommending more consistency in age requirements of laws pertaining to the welfare of minors, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 189 (1969).
For article surveying Georgia cases dealing with domestic relations from June 1977 through May 1978, see 30 Mercer L. Rev. 59 (1978).
For comment on “Grandparents’ Visitation Rights in Georgia,” see 29 Emory L.J. 1083 (1980).
For comment on statutes requiring consent of mother, but not of father, as prerequisite to adoption of illegitimate child, violating the fourteenth amendment equal protection clause, see 29 Emory L.J. 833 (1981).
For note on the role of a judicial determination of paternity in the inheritance rights of illegitimate children in Georgia, see 16 Ga. L. Rev. 171 (1981).
For note, “In re Baby Girl Eason: Expanding the Constitutional Rights of Unwed Fathers,” see 39 Mercer L. Rev. 997 (1988).
For note, “Surrogate Mother Agreements in Georgia: Conflict and Accord with Statutory and Case Law,” see 4 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 153 (1988).