§ 19-8-4.Adoption through the department, child-placing agency, or out-of-state licensed agency

Agency adoptions run through this section. A child may be adopted through the department, a child-placing agency or an out-of-state licensed agency only if each living parent and guardian has done one of two things. Either the parent or guardian voluntarily surrendered all rights to the agency in writing, or a court terminated those rights and committed the child to the agency for adoption. Either way, the agency must then consent to the adoption. A child 14 years of age or older must also give written consent, acknowledged in the presence of the court.

The signing rules are strict. A surrender by a parent or guardian, or by a biological father who is not a legal father, is signed after the child’s birth. Every surrender is signed under oath before a notary public and an adult witness, follows a form in § 19-8-26, and the signer gets a copy on the spot. The signer may revoke within four days as § 19-8-9 provides. Each surrender comes with a signed acknowledgment, also before a notary and an adult witness. A legal mother signs an affidavit on the § 19-8-26 form (a different one if she is the adoptive mother), and the agency representative who took the surrender signs an affidavit too. A biological or legal father who surrenders may also sign an affidavit about Native American heritage and military service. A surrender binds the signer even if he or she is under 18, not a United States citizen or not a Georgia resident; it consents to the jurisdiction of Georgia courts and must state that the signer agrees to be bound by a decree of adoption. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children applies when relevant.

Paragraph (e)(3) adds a pre-birth surrender for a biological father who is not a legal father. He may sign it any time after the biological mother signs a sworn statement naming him as the alleged father. It gives up his rights and his right to notice of any adoption, custody or guardianship proceeding, and the court may enter a final adoption order based on it. He may revoke within four days from signing, no matter when the child is born. His rights end permanently only with a court order terminating them or a final order of adoption. If no adoption follows and his paternity is established by acknowledgment, administrative order or judicial order, he is responsible for child support or other financial obligations. A legal father can’t use this form.

The section was last amended in 2018. A contingent version appears on this page and would take effect only if a 35th state enacts the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children. The version shown first is in force; the only change is that subsection (j) would point to that compact in Chapter 4A of Title 39.