Adopting a child in Georgia can make your family complete. It can give a child the comfort and security of a forever home. It can make a stepparent become a legal parent. But adoption isn’t simple. There are many steps to walk through, and many considerations for the court, as adoption, in most cases, essentially terminates a parental right of another person. That fundamental right can sometimes be difficult to overcome. This is why hiring a Georgia family law attorney is important when navigating through the system.

Georgia adoptions are governed by OCGA § 19-8. Children can be adopted through the Department of Human Services, through a child placement agency, by a stepparent – the spouse of the child’s parent, by a relative, or by a completely independent third party. This Chapter also discusses the numerous potential issues within adoptions that may seem unconventional in nature, including the surrender or termination of parental rights, children born in other countries, stepparent adoptions, adoptions of adults, and contact agreements, to name a few. 

The superior courts of Georgia’s individual counties have jurisdiction in all adoption matters within that county, and people wishing to file a petition for adoption generally must do so in the county they reside. There are also requirements for those wishing to adopt, including being a resident of Georgia who is at least 25 years old – or at least 21 years old if they’re a relative of the child. Unless a stepparent or a relative, the person must also be at least 10 years older than the child. If the person seeking to adopt is married, the petition for adoption must be filed in the name of both spouses. Finally, the person seeking to adopt must be financially, physically, and mentally capable of having permanent custody of the child. 

Typically, to determine that last criteria, a court will appoint an investigator or a Guardian ad Litem to help determine the situation and circumstances surrounding the child’s adoption to decide if it is in the best interest of the child. That phrase – “the best interest of the child” – is the gold star in any Georgia family law matter, and adoption is no exception. And, just as in custody issues where a child who is 14 years old has a say regarding who they live with, the adoption of a child 14 years old or older also requires written consent from the child to his or her adoption. 

The investigator, or the Guardian ad Litem, will conduct a home study as part of the investigation. Georgia laws require the study to be done prior to the hearing on the petition for adoption. The home study includes at least three separate visits to the prospective adoptive family or individual, where at least one must be physically in the home. The investigating person will also interview all family members involved, together and separately, looking for things like motivation to adopt, social background, parenting practices, health history – including mental health – and emotional history, financial review, occupations, criminal history, registry checks, and character references.

If the adoption is voluntary, meaning, the biological parents choose adoption, there is a revocation period of four days for that parent, typically the child’s birth mother, to change her mind. If the adoption is involuntary, there is typically a termination of parental rights hearing that fully relieves the biological parents of their legal rights. Sometimes this happens at the same time as the adoption and sometimes it takes place beforehand, and the child becomes a ward of the state until the adoption is finalized. If the court has determined the biological parent abandoned the child, or if the parent cannot be found, or if they are insane or incapacitated, or if they’ve failed to exercise proper prenatal care, or failed to communicate with or provide for the care and support of the child in any meaningful way, the court has the authority to terminate that legal relationship under the standard of the child’s best interest.

Once the court enters a decree of adoption, it terminates all legal relationships between the adopted child and their former relatives, and by the same token creates the parent-child relationship between the petitioner and the adopted child. The adoptive parent promises a commitment – and unconditional commitment – to meet the physical, emotional, medical, psychological, and social needs of the child who is welcomed into their home.