HB 159 was recently passed by Governor Nathan Deal, and with that passing adoption law in Georgia received an update.

Some of the changes are as follows:

• Shorten the time allowed for a birth mother to reverse her decision to give her child up for adoption, from 10 days to four days after signing adoption documents.
• Allow birth mothers to seek reimbursement from adoptive parents for basic living expenses in both private and agency-run adoptions.
• Ban advertisements and adoption payments from “facilitators,” who are middlemen that arrange adoptions.
• Permit adoptions at age 21 instead of age 25 for relatives to adopt someone in their family, as in the case when both of a child’s parents die.
• Allow out-of-state parents to finalize adoptions of Georgia children in state courts.
• Reduce the age to participate in Georgia’s reunion registry from 21 to 18.
• Allow power of attorney over a child to be transferred to another parent in some circumstances, such as when a biological parent is called to active military duty or has problems with drugs.
• See https://politics.myajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/deal-signs-georgia-adoption-overhaul/vgh5t6EHffogGPkAjWDlRM/

As always, if you find yourself needing guidance in the legal field or whether you are thinking of adopting, give us a call at 770-415-9848 at the Sellers Law Firm: Where Clients Become Family.