§ 19-11-68.Duty of court of initiating state to disburse payments received
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 § 19-11-68
Plain-English Summary
This section belongs to Article 2, Georgia’s version of the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA). Under § 19-11-40.1, no new petition may be filed and no new proceeding may begin under Article 2 on or after January 1, 1998; the article applies only to proceedings pending before that date. Interstate support cases begun since then fall under Article 3, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which starts at § 19-11-100.
When a person owed support lives in Georgia and the payer lives in another state, the Georgia court acts as the “initiating state.” This section gives that court one duty: to receive and disburse forthwith all payments made by the respondent or transmitted by the court of the responding state. “Forthwith” means without delay. The duty may be carried out through the clerk of the court.
The section pairs with § 19-11-67, which makes a Georgia court acting as the responding state forward payments to the initiating court. Together they move money from the payer’s court to the court where the person owed support lives, and then on to that person. Section 19-11-55 describes how the initiating court starts the case by certifying the petition and sending it to the responding state.
Article 3 replaced this system for cases begun on or after January 1, 1998. Its payment rule, § 19-11-138, requires a Georgia support enforcement agency or tribunal to disburse amounts received promptly, as the order directs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the person owed support get paid in a URESA case?
Through the Georgia court that started the case. When Georgia is the initiating state, this section requires its court to receive and disburse forthwith all payments, whether the respondent pays directly or the responding state’s court sends them. The clerk of the court may handle this work.
How fast must the Georgia court pay out support it receives?
Forthwith — that is, without delay. The section doesn’t set a number of days. It requires the court acting as the initiating state to receive and disburse all payments forthwith, whether they come from the respondent or from the court of the responding state.
Who handles URESA payments at the Georgia courthouse?
The clerk may. The section says the initiating court’s duty to receive and disburse payments may be carried out through the clerk of the court. The duty itself still belongs to the court. Section 19-11-67 gives a similar option to a Georgia court acting as the responding state, which may work through community supervision or probation offices.
What if the payer sends money straight to the Georgia court instead of through the other state?
The court still receives and disburses it. The duty covers all payments “made by the respondent or transmitted by the court of the responding state,” so a direct payment from the respondent is handled the same way as one forwarded by the other court.
Does this section apply to a new out-of-state child support case?
No. Section 19-11-40.1 bars new petitions and proceedings under Article 2 on or after January 1, 1998, and limits the article to proceedings pending before then. New cases fall under Article 3, where § 19-11-138 governs receipt and disbursement of payments.
Amendment History
Laws 1958, p. 34, § 23.