Georgia Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 19-8-9. Revocation of Surrender of Rights; Time Limit; Effect of Voluntary Surrender of Rights by Legal Mother

History. Code 1981, § 19-8-9 , enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 4; Ga. L. 2007, p. 342, § 7/HB 497; Ga. L. 2016, p. 304, § 13/SB 64; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159; Ga. L. 2021, p. 151, § 4/HB 154.
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 “authority to sign” in subsection (b) (formerly subsection (c)).
The 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, deleted former subsection (a), which read: “In those cases where the legal mother of the child being placed for adoption has herself previously adopted such child, said adoptive mother shall execute, in lieu of the affidavit specified in subsection (g) of Code Section 19-8-4, 19-8-5, 19-8-6, or 19-8-7, an affidavit meeting the requirements of subsection (i) of Code Section 19-8-26.”; redesignated former subsection (b) as present subsection (a); substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: “A person signing a surrender pursuant to Code Section 19-8-4, 19-8-5, 19-8-6, or 19-8-7 shall have the right to withdraw the surrender by written notice delivered in person or mailed by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery within ten days after signing; and the surrender document shall not be valid unless it so states. The ten days shall be counted consecutively beginning with the day immediately following the date the surrender is executed, however, if the tenth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday then the last day on which the surrender may be withdrawn shall be the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. After ten days, a surrender may not be withdrawn. The notice of withdrawal of surrender shall be delivered in person or mailed by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery to the address designated in the surrender document.”; redesignated former subsection (c) as present subsection (b); and substituted the present provisions of subsection (b) for the former provisions, which read: “If a legal mother has voluntarily and in writing surrendered all of her parental rights pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of Code Section 19-8-4, 19-8-5, 19-8-6, or 19-8-7 and has not withdrawn her surrender within the ten-day period after signing as permitted by the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, she shall have no right or authority to sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 19-7-46.1 regarding the same child.”
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, added the last sentence of subsection (a); and rewrote subsection (b), which read: “If a legal mother has voluntarily and in writing surrendered all of her parental rights pursuant to Code Section 19-8-4, 19-8-5, 19-8-6, or 19-8-7 and has not revoked her surrender within the four-day period after signing as permitted by subsection (a) of this Code section, she shall have no right or authority to sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to Code Section 19-7-46.1 or consent to the granting of a petition for legitimation filed pursuant to Code Section 19-7-22 regarding the same child.”
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.”
Law reviews.
For article, “Who is Georgia’s Mother? Gestational Surrogacy: A Formulation for Georgia’s Legislature,” see 38 Ga. L. Rev. 395 (2003).

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