§ 19-11-41.Purposes of article

Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 2. Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act · Last amended 1958 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-11-41 states the two purposes of Georgia’s Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act: to improve and extend, through reciprocal legislation, the enforcement of support duties, and to make the law on that subject uniform.

Full Text of § 19-11-41

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The purposes of this article are to improve and extend by reciprocal legislation the enforcement of duties of support and to make uniform the law with respect thereto.

End

Plain-English Summary

This section tells readers what Article 2, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, set out to do. It names two purposes. The first is to improve and extend, by reciprocal legislation, the enforcement of duties of support. The second is to make the law on that subject uniform.

“Reciprocal” is the key idea. URESA worked only because many states passed matching laws. A person owed support in one state could start a case there, and the state where the obligor lived would respond under its own version of the same act. Section 19-11-42 builds that into the definitions: an “initiating state” is where a proceeding under this article or a substantially similar reciprocal law begins, and a “responding state” is where the follow-up proceeding is or may be brought. Uniformity meant parents and courts in different states were working from the same rules.

A purpose clause doesn’t create rights on its own, but courts can look to it when a provision is unclear. Its practical reach today is limited. Under § 19-11-40.1, no new petition or proceeding may be started under this article on or after January 1, 1998, and the article applies only to proceedings pending before that date. Interstate support cases filed since then fall under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which begins at § 19-11-100. The section dates to Georgia’s original 1958 enactment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of URESA in Georgia?

This section names two purposes: to improve and extend, by reciprocal legislation, the enforcement of duties of support, and to make the law on that subject uniform. The act let states with matching laws cooperate in enforcing support owed by someone living in another state.

What does “reciprocal” mean in the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act?

It means the act depended on other states passing the same or substantially similar laws. Section 19-11-42 defines a “state” for this article as one in which this article or a substantially similar reciprocal law has been enacted, and the Attorney General may declare a Canadian province or territory reciprocating under § 19-11-44.

Does URESA still govern interstate support in Georgia?

Only for proceedings pending before January 1, 1998. Section 19-11-40.1 bars new petitions and proceedings under this article on or after that date. The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which begins at § 19-11-100, governs interstate support cases filed since then.

Does the purpose section give me any rights?

Not by itself. It states what the article aims to do, which helps explain the article’s other provisions. The working rules for the old URESA cases appear in the sections that follow, such as the definitions in § 19-11-42 and the description of the duty of support in § 19-11-43.

Is URESA the same as UIFSA?

No. URESA is the older act in Article 2. The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act is a separate, newer act in Article 3, beginning at § 19-11-100. Under § 19-11-40.1, the General Assembly intends proceedings started on or after January 1, 1998, to be governed by UIFSA.

Amendment History

Laws 1958, p. 34, § 1.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: purpose of uresauniform reciprocal enforcement of support act purposereciprocal support enforcement georgiauresa georgia