§ 19-8-22.Recognition and effect of order by court or administrative body within or outside United States

Yes. Georgia shall recognize an adoption decree issued under due process of law by a court or administrative body of any other jurisdiction. The rights and obligations of the parties on matters within Georgia’s jurisdiction are decided as though a Georgia court had issued the decree, so an out-of-state adoptive parent and child have the same relationship here as a family whose adoption was granted in Georgia.

Yes, if the decree was issued under due process of law by a court or administrative body of a jurisdiction outside the United States. Georgia treats it as though a Georgia court had entered it. Families who want a Georgia decree as well can look to § 19-8-8, which covers domesticating a foreign adoption and adopting a child under a foreign guardianship order.

It can. When a foreign child’s guardian gives a clear and irrevocable release or consent to adoption, and the appropriate, legally authorized court or agency of the foreign government has certified the guardian’s appointment, Georgia shall recognize it. That release or consent is deemed to satisfy the requirements of §§ 19-8-4 through 19-8-8 and § 19-8-12, so it stands in for the surrenders those sections otherwise require.

Yes. A decree terminating the relationship of parent and child, issued under due process of law by a court or administrative body of another jurisdiction, shall be recognized in Georgia. The parties’ rights on matters within Georgia’s jurisdiction are then determined as though a Georgia court had entered the order, which can matter when a Georgia adoption follows an out-of-state termination.

Yes. Subsection (b) says that any Georgia adoption with a final order entered before April 1, 1986, is governed by subsection (a) if subsection (a) would have applied had it been in effect when the case was filed or concluded. Older adoptions that relied on an out-of-state or foreign decree get the same recognition as newer ones.