§ 19-6-15.2.Determination of support for dependent adult children
Chapter 6. Alimony and Child Support · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2024 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-6-15.2
Plain-English Summary
This section works with § 19-6-15.1, which defines a dependent adult child and says who may file. Once a case is filed, the court “may” order either or both parents to provide support. The decision is discretionary, but in setting the amount and terms the court “shall” determine and consider seven things: the adult child’s own income and assets; needs tied directly to the incapacity, including the substantial care and personal supervision it requires; whether a parent or someone else pays for that care or provides it in person; each parent’s financial resources; other resources or programs available; state or federal programs and benefits the child receives or may receive on reaching the age of majority; and how the court’s order would affect eligibility for those programs and benefits.
The regular child support guidelines don’t apply here; § 19-6-15(q) says so. Instead the court weighs these factors and uses its judgment. The order “shall” be modified for either party if the factfinder decides there has been a substantial change in the parent’s or the child’s ability to provide support.
To protect government benefits, the court may irrevocably assign the support to a special needs trust established under the federal Medicaid trust provisions the section names. Support under this section adds to, and doesn’t replace, help the adult child gets from sources other than the parents, and no duty under these sections may affect the child’s eligibility for the maximum benefits public agencies provide. Either parent, a nonparent custodian, a guardian appointed to receive the support, or the adult child may enforce the order.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a Georgia court decide the amount of support for a disabled adult child?
The court weighs seven factors instead of the regular child support guidelines. They include the adult child’s income and assets, needs tied to the incapacity, who pays for or provides care, each parent’s resources, other available programs, government benefits the child receives or may receive, and how the order would affect eligibility for those benefits. The court must consider all seven, but the amount rests in its sound discretion.
Do the Georgia child support guidelines apply to adult disabled child support?
No. Section 19-6-15(q) says the guidelines in § 19-6-15 don’t apply to support for a dependent adult child. The court instead considers the factors listed in this section, such as the child’s needs and resources, each parent’s finances, and the effect on government benefits, and then sets the amount in its discretion.
Can support for a dependent adult child be changed later?
Yes. The obligation shall be modified for either party if the trier of fact decides, in its sound discretion, that there has been a substantial change in the parent’s or the child’s ability to provide support. The judge decides whether the change is substantial enough.
Does a parent get credit for caring for the adult child at home?
The court must consider it. One of the seven listed factors is whether a parent or other person pays for, or will pay for, the adult child’s care or supervision, or provides substantial care or personal supervision personally. The statute doesn’t set a dollar credit; it leaves the weight of that care to the court’s discretion.
Who can enforce a support order for a dependent adult child?
Either parent, any nonparent custodian, a guardian appointed to receive support for the adult child, or the adult child for whose benefit the support is ordered may enforce it. Contempt under § 19-6-28 is one of the enforcement tools this chapter provides.
Amendment History
Laws 2024, Act 479, § 4, eff. July 1, 2024.