A Georgia Legitimation Code about Paternity

[Jim]

Here's one GA Code pertaining to legitimation. I am very well educated on legitimation laws in GA if anyone is interested. I have personally gone through this whole process and learned first hand how ridiculous some of these procedures are in GA.

Feel free to post anything pertaining to paternity and legitimation in this discussion area.

Georgia Code - Domestic Relations - Title 19, Section 19-7-22

(a) A father of a child born out of wedlock may render his relationship with the child legitimate by petitioning the superior court of the county of the residence of the childìs mother or other party having legal custody or guardianship of the child; provided, however, that if the mother or other party having legal custody or guardianship of the child resides outside the state or cannot, after due diligence, be found within the state, the petition may be filed in the county of the fatherìs residence or the county of the childìs residence. If a petition for the adoption of the child is pending, the father shall file the petition for legitimation in the county in which the adoption petition is filed.
(b) The petition shall set forth the name, age, and sex of the child, the name of the mother, and, if the father desires the name of the child to be changed, the new name. If the mother is alive, she shall be named as a party and shall be served and provided an opportunity to be heard as in other civil actions under Chapter 11 of Title 9, the 'Georgia Civil Practice Act.'
(c) Upon the presentation and filing of the petition, the court may pass an order declaring the fatherìs relationship with the child to be legitimate, and that the father and child shall be capable of inheriting from each other in the same manner as if born in lawful wedlock and specifying the name by which the child shall be known.
(d) A legitimation petition may be filed, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of Code Section 15-11-28, in the juvenile court of the county in which a deprivation proceeding regarding the child is pending.
(e) Except as provided by subsection (f) of this Code section, the court shall upon notice to the mother further establish such duty as the father may have to support the child, considering the facts and circumstances of the motherìs obligation of support and the needs of the child as provided under Code Section 19-6-15.
(f) After a petition for legitimation is granted, if a demand for a jury trial as to support has been properly filed by either parent, then the case shall be transferred from juvenile court to superior court for such jury trial.
(f.1) The petition for legitimation may also include claims for visitation or custody. If such claims are raised in the legitimation action, the court may order, in addition to legitimation, visitation or custody based on the best interests of the child standard. In a case involving allegations of family violence, the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 19-9-1 shall also apply.
(g)(1) In any petition to establish paternity pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Code Section 19-7-43, the alleged fatherìs response may assert a third-party action for the legitimation of the child born out of wedlock. Upon the determination of paternity or if a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity has been made and has not been rescinded pursuant to Code Section 19-7-46.1, the court or trier of fact as a matter of law and pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 19-7-51 may enter an order or decree legitimating a child born out of wedlock, provided that such is in the best interest of the child. Whenever a petition to establish the paternity of a child is brought by the Department of Human Resources, issues of name change, visitation, and custody shall not be determined by the court until such time as a separate petition is filed by one of the parents or by the legal guardian of the child, in accordance with Code Section 19-11-8; if the petition is brought by a party other than the Department of Human Resources or if the alleged father seeks legitimation, the court may determine issues of name change, visitation, and custody in accordance with subsections (b) and (f.1) of this Code section. Custody of the child shall remain in the mother unless or until a court order is entered addressing the issue of custody.
(2) In any voluntary acknowledgment of paternity which has been made and has not been rescinded pursuant to Code Section 19-7-46.1, when both the mother and father freely agree and consent, the child may be legitimated by the inclusion of a statement indicating a voluntary acknowledgment of legitimation.

[Jim]

In Georgia, legitimation is the legal process that an unwed father takes to become the legal father of his child born out of wedlock (O.C.G.A. §19-7-22). More simply, a child born to a father that is not married to the mother is not considered the child’s legal father until he files for legitimation. This is true even when the father’s name is on the child’s birth certificate and/or the child has the father’s last name. This is often surprising to many people because a father’s custody rights are very different from state to state. We have had many calls from distressed fathers who have been very involved in their child’s life and find that one day the mother will not allow him to see the child without a Court Order. A father must legitimate to have visitation or custody, even if he has been paying child support. The good news is that in most cases in the Atlanta metro area (Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Cherokee), the Court will grant the legitimation and set up visitation as part of the process.

A common question is whether the Mother can contest the legitimation or custody. The mother can contest the legitimation, but she must provide evidence that he is not the biological father or that the father is unfit. While the general definition of an unfit parent may be different depending on who you ask, the Court considers a father to be unfit in more extreme circumstances (for example, if he has been convicted of a sexual molestation or battery or has a proven drug addiction problem). The Court will usually give a father the chance to change his behavior and have a relationship with his child or children.

Most legitimation cases combine visitation and child support into one if there has not already been a child support order set up. Generally, we ask for joint legal custody and “standard visitation” time. You may have heard the term “standard visitation,” and in the Atlanta area, it generally means every other weekend (Friday evening through Sunday evening) with alternating holidays and two weeks of summer visitation. The alternating holidays mean that you may have a holiday this year and the other parent will have it next year. This is a starting point for most cases, and often if the parties cannot agree, it will be what a Judge rules.

As of 2007, the Court will use child support worksheets to determine the correct amount of child support. In general, the child support worksheets include both parents’ income, costs for health insurance, daycare, and extracurricular costs