§ 19-11-42.Definitions

These definitions govern Article 2, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act. They matter today only for proceedings pending before January 1, 1998, because § 19-11-40.1 bars new petitions and proceedings under the article on or after that date. Newer cases use the separate definitions in § 19-11-101 of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.

Several terms describe the two-state structure of a URESA case. The “initiating state” is any state where a proceeding under this article or a substantially similar reciprocal law is commenced. The “responding state” is any state where a proceeding following up on the initiating state’s proceeding is or may be commenced. “Court” means the superior court of Georgia and, when the context requires, a court of another state as defined in a substantially similar reciprocal law. “Certification” means certification under the laws of the certifying state, and “law” includes both common law and statutes.

The parties are the “obligee,” any person to whom a duty of support is owed, and the “obligor,” any person owing one. To “register” means a Georgia superior court enters an order making a foreign support order a support order of this state, and the “registering court” is the superior court where the rendering state’s order is registered. “State” includes the District of Columbia and any state, territory or possession of the United States, or any foreign jurisdiction, that has enacted this article or a substantially similar reciprocal law, plus any Canadian province or territory the Attorney General declares a reciprocating state under § 19-11-44.

The last definition sets the act’s limits. A “support order” is any judgment, decree or order of support, temporary or final, and whether or not subject to modification, revocation or remission, regardless of the kind of action it was entered in. But custody, visitation rights, property settlement and all matters other than support are specifically excluded from enforcement under this article.