§ 19-8-7.Adoption by certain relatives related to child by blood or marriage
Chapter 8. Adoption · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2018 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-8-7
Contingent version (not yet in force)
The Code also prints a second version of this section that takes effect only when the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children has been enacted into law by a thirty-fifth state. Until then, the text above is the law. The contingent text reads:
Laws 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Laws 1991, p. 1640, § 3; Laws 1999, p. 252, § 6; Laws 2003, Act 207, § 3, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2007, Act 214, §§ 5, 6, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2008, Act 471, § 19, eff. May 12, 2008; Laws 2016, Act 404, § 12, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2018, Act 285, § 1-1, eff. Sept. 1, 2018; Laws 2024, Act 425, §§ 4, 5, eff. April 22, 2024.
Plain-English Summary
Relative adoptions run through this section. A child may be adopted by someone related by blood or marriage as a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle or sibling. Each living parent and guardian must voluntarily surrender all rights in writing to that relative and any spouse of the relative so they can adopt. A child 14 years of age or older must consent in writing, acknowledged in the presence of the court. Relatives outside that list — a cousin, for example — adopt as third parties under § 19-8-5.
The formalities track the agency and third-party sections. Surrenders by parents, guardians and biological fathers are signed after the birth. A biological father who is not a legal father may instead sign a pre-birth surrender any time after the biological mother signs a sworn statement naming him. It waives his right to notice, may be revoked within four days from signing regardless of the birth date, and leaves him liable for child support or other financial obligations if no adoption follows and paternity is later established. A legal father can’t use it. Every surrender is signed under oath before a notary public and an adult witness on a form in § 19-8-26, the signer gets a copy, and the signer may revoke within four days under § 19-8-9. An acknowledgment, a legal mother’s affidavit and a representative’s affidavit go with it. The surrender binds a signer who is under 18, a noncitizen or a nonresident, and the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children applies when relevant.
Neighboring sections make relative adoptions lighter than third-party ones. The ten-year age gap in § 19-8-3 doesn’t apply. Under § 19-8-16, the court may but need not appoint an investigating agent, and no home study is required. If a parent won’t sign, § 19-8-10 lets the court proceed without a surrender on listed grounds, including a significant failure to communicate with or support the child for one year or longer. 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 would be subsection (j)’s reference to that compact in Chapter 4A of Title 39.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which relatives can adopt under Georgia’s relative adoption law?
A grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle or sibling, related to the child by blood or marriage, along with that relative’s spouse. Other relatives, such as cousins, aren’t on the list, so they adopt as third parties under § 19-8-5, which brings a preplacement home study and a 60-day filing deadline. Relatives on the list don’t face those third-party requirements, but they still need written surrenders from each living parent and guardian.
Can a grandparent adopt a grandchild in Georgia without the parents’ consent?
Not through this section’s ordinary route, which needs a written surrender from each living parent and guardian. But § 19-8-10 lets the court grant a relative adoption without a parent’s surrender if it finds, by clear and convincing evidence, a listed ground — for example abandonment, or that the parent, without justifiable cause, significantly failed to communicate (or make a bona fide attempt to communicate) with the child, or to support the child, for one year or longer immediately before the petition was filed. The court must also find the adoption serves the child’s best interests, and the parent gets notice and may appear.
Do grandparents need a home study to adopt in Georgia?
No home study is required. Under § 19-8-16, when a petition is filed under this section, the court is authorized but not required to appoint an agent to investigate, and a home study shall not be required. The court still examines the petition and decides whether the adoption is in the child’s best interests, and § 19-8-16 calls for a criminal history records check of the petitioner.
If my spouse and I are adopting my grandchild, who do the parents surrender to?
To both of you. The surrender goes to the relative and any spouse of that relative so they can adopt together, and under § 19-8-3 a married petitioner files in the names of both spouses. Each surrender must be signed under oath before a notary public and an adult witness, and each signer may revoke within four days under § 19-8-9.
Can an older brother or sister adopt a sibling in Georgia?
Yes. A sibling is one of the relatives listed in this section, related by blood or marriage. Each living parent and guardian must surrender rights in writing, and a child 14 years of age or older must consent before the court. The ten-year age gap rule in § 19-8-3 doesn’t apply to a relative adopting under this section, but the sibling must still be at least 21 years of age or married and living with a spouse, and meet that section’s other requirements.
Amendment History
Laws 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Laws 1991, p. 1640, § 3; Laws 1999, p. 252, § 6; Laws 2003, Act 207, § 3, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2007, Act 214, §§ 5, 6, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2008, Act 471, § 19, eff. May 12, 2008; Laws 2016, Act 404, § 12, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2018, Act 285, § 1-1, eff. Sept. 1, 2018.