§ 19-11-128.Employment of private counsel
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 § 19-11-128
Plain-English Summary
This one-sentence section settles a practical question. In any proceeding the interstate support article authorizes — establishing a support order, enforcing or registering one from another state or country, modifying a child support order, or determining parentage — an individual may employ private counsel. The statute says “may”: it permits a lawyer but doesn’t require one. And it speaks of “an individual,” so the right belongs to the parent asking for support and the parent asked to pay alike.
The section matters because the state agency’s help comes with a limit. Under § 19-11-126, Georgia’s support enforcement agency must provide services to a petitioner who asks, but § 19-11-126(f) says the article creates no attorney-client or other fiduciary relationship between the agency, or the agency’s attorney, and the person it is assisting. A private lawyer, by contrast, represents you.
Neighboring sections touch on hiring a lawyer. If the obligee prevails, § 19-11-132 lets a Georgia responding tribunal assess reasonable attorney’s fees against the obligor, and those fees may be ordered paid directly to the attorney. Under § 19-11-133, a petitioner who takes part through a private attorney doesn’t thereby become subject to personal jurisdiction in some other proceeding. The section was last amended in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer for an interstate child support case in Georgia?
This section doesn’t require one. It says an individual “may” employ private counsel in proceedings under Georgia’s interstate support law. Many parents instead ask the state’s support enforcement agency for services, which § 19-11-126 requires the agency to provide to a petitioner on request. Whether a lawyer is worth hiring depends on the case.
Is the child support agency’s lawyer my lawyer?
No. Section 19-11-126(f) says the interstate support article does not create an attorney-client or other fiduciary relationship between a support enforcement agency, or the agency’s attorney, and the individual the agency is assisting. That is one reason this section confirms you may hire private counsel of your own.
Can I make the other parent pay my lawyer in an interstate support case?
Possibly. Under § 19-11-132(b), if the obligee prevails, a Georgia responding tribunal may assess reasonable attorney’s fees, filing fees, other costs and certain expenses against the obligor, and attorney’s fees may be ordered paid directly to the attorney. That award is discretionary. Under § 19-11-132(c), the tribunal must order costs and reasonable attorney’s fees if it determines a hearing was requested primarily for delay.
Can the parent who owes support hire a lawyer too?
Yes. The section gives the right to “an individual,” without limiting it to the person seeking support. A parent who is asked to pay, or who is contesting a registered order or a withholding order, may also employ private counsel to represent him or her in proceedings under the act.
If I use a Georgia lawyer for my support case, can I be sued in Georgia for other things?
Not on that basis, if you are the petitioner. Section 19-11-133(a) says a petitioner’s participation before a responding tribunal — in person, by private attorney, or through the support enforcement agency — does not confer personal jurisdiction over the petitioner in another proceeding. That protection has limits, which § 19-11-133 spells out.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.