§ 19-11-62.Discovery procedures
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 § 19-11-62
Plain-English Summary
In a reciprocal support case the parties and witnesses are often in different states, so evidence may have to be gathered at a distance. This section gives the court that tool. In any proceeding under the article, the court may order interrogatories (written questions) or depositions (out-of-court testimony) to be taken within or outside Georgia, following the law that applies to a court of record. Ordering discovery is discretionary — the court “may” do it. The section doesn’t create its own discovery rules; it borrows the ones that already govern a court of record.
Article 2 has been closed to new petitions and proceedings since January 1, 1998, and governs only proceedings pending before that date (§ 19-11-40.1). Article 3, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, addresses cross-border discovery in § 19-11-137, which lets a Georgia tribunal ask a tribunal outside the state to help obtain discovery and, on request, compel a person within its jurisdiction to respond to a discovery order issued by a tribunal outside the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Could a party take a deposition in a URESA case?
Yes, if the court ordered it. In any proceeding under the article, the court may order depositions or interrogatories to be taken within or outside Georgia under the law applicable to a court of record. The section doesn’t limit discovery to one side, and whether to order it is up to the court.
Could testimony be gathered from someone in another state?
Yes. The section lets the court order interrogatories or depositions to be taken “within or outside the state.” Because reciprocal cases involved a petitioner in one state and a respondent in another, that reach often mattered. The taking still follows the law that applies to a court of record.
Which discovery rules applied in a URESA case?
The rules that govern a court of record. The section says interrogatories and depositions are taken “pursuant to the provisions of law applicable to a court of record,” so it borrows existing discovery law instead of creating its own. It doesn’t name a particular statute or set of rules.
Did the court have to allow discovery?
No. The section says the court “may” order interrogatories or depositions. Whether to allow them was within the court’s discretion, and the section sets no test the court must apply in deciding. A party who wanted discovery had to persuade the court to order it.
How does discovery work in new interstate support cases?
Under § 19-11-137 in Article 3. A Georgia tribunal may ask a tribunal outside the state to help obtain discovery and, on request, may compel a person over whom it has jurisdiction to respond to a discovery order issued by a tribunal outside the state. This article has taken no new cases since January 1, 1998 (§ 19-11-40.1).
Amendment History
Laws 1958, p. 34, § 18.