§ 19-11-49.Choice of law for determining duties of support
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 2. Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act · Last amended 1958 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-49
Plain-English Summary
This is the choice-of-law rule for Georgia’s old reciprocal support article. The duties of support that apply are those imposed or imposable under the laws of any state where the obligor was present during the period for which support is sought. “Imposed” reaches a duty already in place, such as one set by a court order; “imposable” reaches a duty the law would impose even though no court has yet done so. The test turns on where the obligor was, not where the obligee lives.
The second sentence adds a presumption: the obligor is presumed to have been present in the responding state during the period for which support is sought, until otherwise shown. In practice that points the responding court to its own law unless the record shows the obligor was elsewhere during that period. The section doesn’t say who must make that showing. When Georgia’s law applies under this section, § 19-11-46 makes the Georgia duty binding on an obligor present here, whatever the obligee’s residence. Section 19-11-43 describes what counts as a duty of support, and § 19-11-63 lets the responding court order support once it finds a duty.
Article 2 is closed to new cases: under § 19-11-40.1, no new petition or proceeding may be started under it on or after January 1, 1998, and it applies only to proceedings pending before that date. The newer Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in Article 3 takes a different approach. Under § 19-11-122, a Georgia responding tribunal, except as Article 3 otherwise provides, applies the law generally applicable to similar Georgia proceedings and determines the duty of support and the amount under Georgia law and Georgia’s support guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which state’s support law applied in a URESA case?
The law of any state where the obligor was present during the period for which support is sought. The section looks to the duties imposed or imposable under that law. The obligor is presumed to have been present in the responding state during that period until otherwise shown, so the responding state’s law applies unless someone shows otherwise.
What if the obligor lived in several states during the period support is claimed for?
The section points to the laws of “any state” in which the obligor was present during the period for which support is sought, so more than one state’s law can come into play. The text doesn’t rank those states or say how a court divides the period among them; that is left to the court handling the case.
Is the obligor presumed to live in the responding state?
Not to live there, but to have been present there during the period at issue. The obligor is presumed to have been present in the responding state during the period for which support is sought until otherwise shown. The section doesn’t say which party must rebut the presumption, only that it holds until someone shows otherwise.
What does “imposed or imposable” mean in this section?
It covers two kinds of duty. An imposed duty is one already set, for example by a court order or decree. An imposable duty is one the law would place on the obligor even though no court has yet done so. Either kind counts under this section if it comes from the law of a state where the obligor was present during the period for which support is sought.
How does the newer UIFSA decide which law applies?
Differently. Under § 19-11-122, in Article 3, a Georgia responding tribunal applies the procedural and substantive law generally applicable to similar Georgia proceedings and determines the duty of support and the amount under Georgia law and support guidelines, except as Article 3 otherwise provides. Article 3 governs filings on or after January 1, 1998, the date § 19-11-40.1 closed this article to new cases.
Amendment History
Laws 1958, p. 34, § 6.