§ 19-7-24.Parents’ obligations to child born out of wedlock
Chapter 7. Parent and Child Relationship Generally · Article 2. Legitimacy · Last amended 2006 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-7-24
Plain-English Summary
This section puts the support duty for a child born out of wedlock on both parents. Each parent owes the child maintenance, protection and education. The duty is “joint and several,” which means the parents share it and each one also answers for it in full; one parent can’t point to the other and walk away.
The duty lasts until the child reaches 18 or becomes emancipated. It gives way only where a court order defines one parent’s duty “otherwise or further.” In practice that order is often a child support order: a paternity decree may provide for support under § 19-7-51, a legitimation case ends with a support order under § 19-7-22(f), and both use the guidelines in § 19-6-15.
The section mirrors § 19-7-2, which sets the same joint and several duty for every parent and ends it when the child reaches the age of majority, dies, marries or becomes emancipated, subject to the exceptions that section names. The point of § 19-7-24 is that birth outside marriage doesn’t lessen the duty. A father who has never legitimated the child still owes support. Before a court can order him to pay, though, his paternity usually has to be established, through a paternity case under Article 3 of this chapter or a voluntary acknowledgment under § 19-7-46.1. The section was last amended in 2006.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an unmarried father have to pay child support in Georgia?
Yes. This section makes it the joint and several duty of each parent of a child born out of wedlock to provide for the child’s maintenance, protection and education. To get a support order against him, paternity usually must first be established, by a court or administrative case or by a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Once a court finds him to be the father, § 19-7-49(a) says the order establishes his duty to support the child.
Until what age must parents support a child born out of wedlock in Georgia?
Until the child reaches 18 or becomes emancipated. The section lets a court order define one parent’s duty “otherwise or further,” so the terms of a specific support order control where one exists. For how support amounts are set, see the guidelines in § 19-6-15, which § 19-7-51 makes available in paternity decrees.
Does a father owe support even if he never legitimated the child?
Yes. The duty falls on “each parent” and doesn’t depend on legitimation. Legitimation under § 19-7-22 gives the father parental rights; the support duty exists without it. Under § 19-7-46.1(b), a voluntary acknowledgment recorded in the putative father registry counts as a legal determination of paternity for purposes of a future support order, even though it doesn’t legitimate the child.
What does “joint and several duty” mean for parents in Georgia?
It means the parents share the duty and each also owes it in full. Neither parent can escape the obligation because the other parent is also responsible. How the cost divides between them in a given case is set by court order, which this section expressly allows to define one parent’s duty differently.
Can a court order change how much each parent owes?
Yes. The section yields “to the extent that the duty of one parent is otherwise or further defined by court order.” A paternity decree may set support by periodic or lump sum payments under § 19-6-15, as § 19-7-51 provides, and a legitimation order comes with a support order under § 19-7-22(f). Once a court sets the amount, that order governs.
Amendment History
Laws 1972, p. 494, § 1; Laws 1979, p. 466, § 44; Laws 1988, p. 1720, § 7; Laws 2006, Act 466, § 5, eff. July 1, 2006.
Formerly Code 1863, § 1749; Code 1868, § 1789; Code 1873, § 1798; Code 1882, § 1798; Civil Code 1895, § 2508; Civil Code 1910, § 3027; Code 1933, § 74-202.