§ 19-9-126.Impact of execution on parental rights
Chapter 9. Child Custody Proceedings · Article 4. Power of Attorney for the Care of a Child · Last amended 2018 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-9-126
Plain-English Summary
Parents who arrange care with a relative or volunteer family may worry that the arrangement will look like abandonment. This section answers that worry. Signing a power of attorney under this article does not, in the absence of other evidence, amount to abandonment, abuse, neglect or any sign that the parent is unfit. The qualifier matters: the document alone proves nothing bad, but other evidence can still be weighed.
The section also guards against misuse. Nobody may sign a power of attorney intending to strip away or cancel another person’s legal responsibility for the child’s care. A parent’s obligations under Chapter 7 of Title 19 survive the power of attorney and can’t be raised as a defense; those include the duty in § 19-7-2 that each parent shares to provide for the child’s maintenance, protection and education. Anyone who gives a power of attorney to a nonrelative must carefully consider that agent’s criminal background check, and doing so doesn’t free the parent from liability.
Finally, nothing in the article stops the Division of Family and Children Services or law enforcement from investigating, and taking appropriate action on, allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment, desertion or other mistreatment of a child. Section 19-9-128 goes further and bars a power of attorney signed to undercut a DFCS investigation. The section took effect September 1, 2018, and hasn’t been amended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will DFCS treat me as abandoning my child if I sign a power of attorney in Georgia?
Not because of the power of attorney alone. The section says signing one does not, in the absence of other evidence, amount to abandonment, abuse, neglect or any sign of unfitness. But DFCS and law enforcement keep full power to investigate and act on allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment, desertion or other mistreatment, so other facts can still matter.
Do I still have to support my child after signing a power of attorney in Georgia?
Yes. The parental obligations in Chapter 7 of Title 19 aren’t extinguished when a parent signs a power of attorney, and they can’t be used as a defense. That includes each parent’s duty under § 19-7-2 to provide for the child’s maintenance, protection and education. Section 19-9-124 adds that the power of attorney can’t deprive or limit support the child should receive.
Can I use a power of attorney to cut the other parent out of their responsibilities?
No. The section forbids signing a power of attorney with the intention of divesting or negating another person’s legal responsibility for the child’s care. Section 19-9-124 also says the delegation can’t change rights set by an existing court order or deprive a parent of rights over custody, parenting time, visitation or support.
If I checked the agent’s background, am I protected from liability?
No. Anyone who gives a power of attorney to a nonrelative must carefully consider the agent’s criminal background check, and the section states that this consideration doesn’t absolve the signer from liability. Reviewing the check is a duty, not a shield. The section doesn’t spell out what liability might follow; that depends on other law and the facts.
Can police or DFCS still investigate while my child is living with an agent?
Yes. Nothing in the article prevents the Division of Family and Children Services or law enforcement from investigating allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment, desertion or other mistreatment of a child and taking appropriate action. A power of attorney gives the child a caregiver; it doesn’t put the child beyond the reach of child-protection authorities.
Amendment History
Laws 2018, Act 285, § 2-2, eff. Sept. 1, 2018.