§ 19-7-23.“Child born out of wedlock” defined
Chapter 7. Parent and Child Relationship Generally · Article 2. Legitimacy · Last amended 1988 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-7-23
Plain-English Summary
This short definition carries a lot of weight. Several Georgia statutes turn on whether a child was “born out of wedlock”: the support duty in § 19-7-24, the rule in § 19-7-25 that only the mother has custody until the father legitimates, the legitimation process in § 19-7-22, and the genetic-test presumption in § 19-7-46(c). This section tells you which children the term covers.
There are three categories. The first is a child whose parents weren’t married when the child was born or who don’t later marry each other. The second is a child born of the wife’s adulterous intercourse during the marriage. The third is a catchall: any child who is not legitimate under § 19-7-20.
Read it alongside § 19-7-20. That section says children born in wedlock, or within the usual period of gestation after the marriage ends, are legitimate. It also says that when the mother and the reputed father of a child born out of wedlock marry and he recognizes the child as his, the child becomes legitimate. And where the husband could have had access to the wife, the law strongly presumes a child born during the marriage is his, so proof to the contrary must be clear. That presumption matters for the second category: calling a married woman’s child the product of adultery takes clear proof. The definition dates to Georgia’s nineteenth-century codes and was last revised in 1988.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “born out of wedlock” mean in Georgia law?
It covers three groups of children. The first is a child whose parents weren’t married when the child was born or who don’t later marry each other. The second is a child born of the wife’s adulterous intercourse during her marriage. The third is any child who isn’t legitimate under § 19-7-20, which describes the children Georgia treats as legitimate. The label matters because custody, support and legitimation rules in Chapter 7 depend on it.
If my parents married after I was born, am I still a child born out of wedlock?
Not necessarily. The first category covers a child whose parents weren’t married at the birth “or who do not subsequently intermarry,” and § 19-7-20(c) says the marriage of the mother and the reputed father, plus his recognition of the child as his, makes the child legitimate. Once legitimate under § 19-7-20, a child falls outside the third category too. The child also takes the father’s surname at that point.
Can a child born to a married woman be considered born out of wedlock?
Yes, if the child is the issue of the wife’s adulterous intercourse during the marriage. But § 19-7-20(b) sets a strong presumption that a child born during the marriage is legitimate where the husband could have had access to the wife, and the proof against legitimacy must be clear. A mere claim of an affair isn’t enough to move the child into this category.
Do both parents have to support a child born out of wedlock in Georgia?
Yes. Under § 19-7-24, each parent of a child born out of wedlock has a joint and several duty to provide for the child’s maintenance, protection and education until the child turns 18 or becomes emancipated, unless a court order defines one parent’s duty differently. Being born outside marriage doesn’t reduce what the child is owed.
Who has custody of a child born out of wedlock in Georgia?
The mother. Section 19-7-25 says only the mother of a child born out of wedlock is entitled to custody unless the father legitimates the child under § 19-7-22. Until then, the mother may exercise all parental power over the child. A father who wants custody, visitation or parenting time can ask for it in a legitimation petition.
Amendment History
Laws 1988, p. 1720, § 6.
Formerly Code 1863, § 1748; Code 1868, § 1788; Code 1873, § 1797; Code 1882, § 1797; Civil Code 1895, § 2507; Civil Code 1910, § 3026; Code 1933, § 74-201.