---
title: O.C.G.A. § 19-7-49. Final order; effect; evidence of costs.
collection: code
id: 19-7-49
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 19-7-49 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-7-49
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-7-49.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-7-49/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t18-t19-(v16)-2022-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=b0848ebd_0#page=765
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: DOMESTIC RELATIONS / PARENT AND CHILD RELATIONSHIP GENERALLY / DETERMINATION OF PATERNITY
---

# O.C.G.A. § 19-7-49. Final order; effect; evidence of costs.

(a) On a finding that the alleged father is the father of the child, the court shall issue an order designating the alleged father as the father of the child. The sole effect of the order shall be to establish the duty of the father to support the child.

(b) On a finding that the alleged father is not the father of the child, the court shall issue an order declaring this finding.

(c) The trier of fact shall receive without foundation or the need for third-party testimony evidence of costs of pregnancy, child birth, and genetic testing. The evidence so presented shall constitute prima-facie evidence of amounts incurred for such services or for testing on behalf of the child. The court may award such costs as part of its final decree.

## History

Code 1933, § 74-310, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1374, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1613, § 22.

## Cross References

Issuance or registration of new birth certificate upon order declaring paternity of child, §§ 31-10-12, 31-10-14.

## Law Reviews

For note on the role of a judicial determination of paternity in the inheritance rights of illegitimate children in Georgia, see 16 Ga. L. Rev. 171 (1981).

For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 121 (1997).