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Termination of parental rights in Georgia when father is not on birth certificate
As a Georgia family law attorney, I was recently asked how parental rights could be terminated for a father who is not on the child's birth certificate. Generally, if you are not married and the ...read more
Legitimation and abandonment in Georgia
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently heard an appeal of the grant of a legitimation petition, where the father was absent during the majority of the pregnancy, but in the child's life from the ...read more
Filing of transcript can be determinative in Georgia appeals
The Court of Appeals of Georgia recently heard a legitimation case that highlights the importance of including a hearing transcript with the appeal in Georgia. Charlot v. Goldwire, A11A0684 (2011). ...read more
Father's sister has no right to court ordered visitation in Georgia child custody case
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed long standing law in limiting court ordered visitation to parents and grandparents. Morris v. Morris, A11A0013 (2011). In that legitimation case, the ...read more
Requirements for Petition for Legitimation in Georgia
In Georgia, a child born out of wedlock is considered the biological child of both his mother and father, but only the mother is immediately considered to be the ?legal parent.? Thus, the mother is ...read more
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity in Georgia
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently heard a case regarding the implications of a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Venable v. Parker, A10A1617 (2011). In that case, shortly after the ...read more
Rights of legal father in legitimation action
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed the rights of a legal father in a legitimation action brought by the child's biological father. In Baker v. Lankford, the wife gave birth to a child ...read more
Can the paternity of a child born during a marriage be challenged?
Paternity testing during a divorce case is not extremely common, but this issue does arise. The Georgia Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trial court's denial of a mother's motion to compel ...read more
Child Support and Paternity
As technology changes our world, it also changes our Child Support and Paternity laws here in Georgia. Typically, in a parent cannot waive their right to receive child support, nor can another be ...read more
Legitimation in Georgia
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 ...read more