§ 19-8-15.Objections to petition for adoption
Chapter 8. Adoption · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2018 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-8-15
Plain-English Summary
Most adoptions don’t invite outsiders to object. This short section gives two groups that privilege. The first is any person related to the child by blood, but only when the child’s legal mother and biological father (whether or not he was a legal father) have both died. It doesn’t matter whether either parent had surrendered or lost parental rights before death.
The second group is a “family member,” as § 19-7-3 defines that term — a grandparent, great-grandparent or sibling, each as defined there — who holds visitation rights granted under § 19-7-3. That family member may object only when neither parent has any remaining rights to the child and the person adopting is a blood relative of the child. The court hears the objections and decides, in its discretion, whether they are a good reason to deny the adoption. If the court approves the blood relative’s adoption, it has authority to grant or continue the family member’s visitation in the adoption order.
Objecting isn’t a veto. The judge weighs the objection against the child’s best interests under § 19-8-18. Two neighboring sections fill in the procedure: § 19-8-13 requires the petitioner to serve a family member who has § 19-7-3 visitation with a copy of the petition at least 30 days before the hearing date, and § 19-8-18 lets the court continue or discontinue existing visitation as the child’s best interests require. The section was last amended in 2018.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can grandparents stop an adoption in Georgia?
They can object in two situations, but they can’t veto the adoption. If both of the child’s parents have died, any blood relative, including a grandparent, may file objections. A grandparent with visitation rights under § 19-7-3 may also object when neither parent has any remaining rights and the petitioner is a blood relative. In either case the judge decides whether the objections are a good reason to deny the petition.
Can relatives object to an adoption if both parents have died?
Yes. When the child’s legal mother and biological father have both died, any person related to the child by blood has the privilege of filing objections to the adoption petition. That holds whether or not either parent had surrendered parental rights or had them terminated before death.
Will I keep my grandparent visitation if a relative adopts my grandchild?
Possibly, but it’s up to the judge. If the court approves an adoption by a blood relative after hearing a family member’s objections, it has authority to grant or continue that family member’s visitation in the adoption order. Section 19-8-18 also lets the court continue or discontinue existing § 19-7-3 visitation in the adoption order as it finds is in the child’s best interests.
Who counts as a family member for objecting to an adoption in Georgia?
The section borrows the definition in § 19-7-3: a grandparent, great-grandparent or sibling. That section defines each term; for example, “sibling” there means a brother or sister of the child’s parent, and “grandparent” includes the parent of a parent who has died or whose rights were terminated. To object under this section, the family member must also hold visitation rights granted under § 19-7-3.
Does a grandparent with visitation get notice of the adoption petition?
Yes. Under § 19-8-13, when a family member other than the petitioner has visitation rights granted under § 19-7-3, the petitioner must serve a copy of the adoption petition on that family member or the family member’s attorney at least 30 days before the date the court will consider the petition. That notice gives the family member time to file objections.
Amendment History
Laws 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Laws 2016, Act 333, § 3, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2017, Act 275, eff. May 9, 2017; Laws 2018, Act 285, § 1-1, eff. Sept. 1, 2018.