Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 19. DOMESTIC RELATIONS · Chapter 9. CHILD CUSTODY PROCEEDINGS · Article 4. POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR THE CARE OF A CHILD

19-9-126. Impact of execution on parental rights.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

(a)
The execution of a power of attorney under this article shall, in the absence of other evidence, not constitute abandonment, abuse, neglect, or any indication of unfitness as a parent.#
(b)
An individual shall not execute a power of attorney under this article with the intention of divesting or negating another individual’s legal responsibility for the care of a child.#
(c)
The parental obligations set forth in Chapter 7 of this title to his or her child shall not be extinguished or serve as a defense when a parent executes a power of attorney. Any individual giving a power of attorney to a nonrelative shall carefully consider such agent’s criminal background check, and such consideration shall not absolve the signer from liability.#
(d)
Nothing in this article shall prevent the Division of Family and Children Services of the department or law enforcement from investigating and taking appropriate action regarding allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment, desertion, or other mistreatment of a child.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

Code 1981, § 19-9-126, enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 2-2/HB 159.

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2018, “Chapter 7 of this title” was substituted for “Chapter 7 of Title 19” near the beginning of subsection (c).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t18-t19-(v16)-2022-pdf.pdf, Volume V16, 2022 edition, pages 1077 to 1078; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 eddc877da9f2.