§ 19-11-125.Receipt by inappropriate tribunal
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 3. Civil Provisions · Last amended 2013 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-125
Plain-English Summary
Petitions sometimes land in the wrong place. This one-sentence section keeps a misdirected interstate support petition moving instead of letting it stall. If a petition or comparable pleading reaches an inappropriate tribunal of this state, that tribunal shall forward the pleading and its accompanying documents to an appropriate tribunal, and shall notify the petitioner where and when the pleading was sent.
Both duties are mandatory. The receiving tribunal may send the papers to an appropriate tribunal elsewhere in Georgia or in another state, whichever fits. The section doesn’t define “inappropriate,” and it doesn’t speak of dismissal; its instruction is to forward and notify.
Three neighboring sections work the same way. Code Section 19-11-123(a)(2) has an initiating Georgia tribunal send papers to another state’s state information agency when it doesn’t know the right responding tribunal. Code Section 19-11-129(b)(3) tells Georgia’s state information agency, the Department of Human Services, to forward documents received from another state or a foreign country to the appropriate tribunal in the county where the individual obligee or the obligor lives, or where the obligor’s property is believed to be. And Code Section 19-11-124(a) requires a responding Georgia tribunal to tell the petitioner where and when a petition was filed. Together they keep the petitioner informed as papers move between tribunals. The section was amended in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my interstate support petition goes to the wrong Georgia court?
The tribunal that received it shall forward the pleading and its accompanying documents to an appropriate tribunal of Georgia or another state. It shall also notify you where and when the pleading was sent. Both steps are mandatory under this section.
Will I be told where my support petition was sent?
Yes. This section requires the inappropriate tribunal to notify the petitioner where and when the pleading was sent. Once an appropriate responding Georgia tribunal receives it, Code Section 19-11-124(a) requires that tribunal to have it filed and to notify the petitioner where and when it was filed.
Does a petition filed in the wrong tribunal get dismissed?
This section doesn’t provide for dismissal. Its instruction to a tribunal that receives a petition it shouldn’t handle is to forward the pleading and accompanying documents to an appropriate tribunal and notify the petitioner. What happens next depends on the tribunal that receives the forwarded papers.
Can a Georgia tribunal send my petition to another state?
Yes. The section lets the inappropriate tribunal forward the pleading to an appropriate tribunal of this state or another state. If the right place is outside Georgia, the papers can go there directly, and the petitioner must be told where and when they were sent.
Which Georgia tribunal is the appropriate one for an interstate support case?
Code Section 19-11-102(a) names Georgia’s tribunals: the superior courts, the Office of State Administrative Hearings and the Department of Human Services. For documents arriving from another state or country, Code Section 19-11-129(b)(3) points to the appropriate tribunal in the county where the individual obligee or obligor lives, or where the obligor’s property is believed to be.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.