2022 Georgia Code
Title 19 - Domestic Relations
Chapter 8 - Adoption
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 19-8-19. Effect of Decree of Adoption

1. A decree of adoption, whether issued by a court of this state or by a court of any other jurisdiction, shall have the following effect as to matters within the jurisdiction of or before a court in this state:
   1. Except with respect to a spouse of the petitioner and relatives of the spouse, a decree of adoption shall terminate all legal relationships between the adopted individual and his or her relatives, including his or her parent, so that the adopted individual thereafter shall be a stranger to his or her former relatives for all purposes, including inheritance and the interpretation or construction of documents, statutes, and instruments, whether executed before or after the adoption is decreed, which do not expressly include the individual by name or by some designation not based on a parent and child or blood relationship; and
   2. A decree of adoption shall create the relationship of parent and child between each petitioner and the adopted individual, as if the adopted individual were a child of biological issue of that petitioner.  The adopted individual shall enjoy every right and privilege of a biological child of that petitioner; shall be deemed a biological child of that petitioner, to inherit under the laws of descent and distribution in the absence of a will, and to take under any instrument of testamentary gift, bequest, devise, or legacy, whether executed before or after the adoption is decreed, unless expressly excluded therefrom; shall take by inheritance from relatives of that petitioner; and shall also take as a child of that petitioner under a class gift made by the will of a third person.
2. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Code section, if a parent of a child dies without the relationship of parent and child having been previously terminated by court order, the child’s right of inheritance from or through the deceased parent shall not be affected by the adoption.

History. Code 1981, § 19-8-19 , enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159.

The 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, in paragraph (a)(1), substituted “shall terminate” for “terminates” near the middle, inserted “or her” three times, and substituted “thereafter shall be” for “thereafter is” in the middle; in paragraph (a)(2), substituted “adoption shall create” for “adoption creates” near the beginning of the first sentence, in the second sentence, deleted “the provisions of” following “take under” in the middle, and deleted the quote marks from “child” near the end; and, in subsection (b), deleted “the provisions of” preceding “subsection (a)” near the beginning, and deleted “or unrevoked surrender of parental rights to the child” following “court order” near the end.

Law reviews.

For comment on Thornton v. Anderson, 207 Ga. 714 , 64 S.E.2d 186 (1950), holding adoption of child serves as natural birth to revoke will, see 14 Ga. B.J. 86 (1951).

For comment on Thornton v. Anderson, 207 Ga. 714 , 64 S.E.2d 186 (1951), see 3 Mercer L. Rev. 223 (1951).

For note discussing rights of inheritance after adoption in Georgia, see 24 Ga. B.J. 139 (1961).

For article discussing problems in construction of instrument conveying gift to a group or class, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 169 (1969).

For note advocating consistency of inheritance and wrongful death rights with adopted child’s new legal status, see 23 Mercer L. Rev. 1003 (1972).

For article discussing inheritance by and from adopted child, see 10 Ga. L. Rev. 447 (1976).

For article surveying legislative and judicial developments in Georgia’s will, trusts, and estate laws, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (1979).

For comment on “Grandparents’ Visitation Rights in Georgia,” see 29 Emory L.J. 1083 (1980).

For survey article on wills, trusts, and administration of estates, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 323 (1982).

For annual survey of law of wills, trusts, and administration of estates, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 417 (1986).

For note, “Surrogate Mother Agreements in Georgia: Conflict and Accord with Statutory and Case Law,” see 4 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 153 (1988).

For note, “In re Baby Girl Eason: Expanding the Constitutional Rights of Unwed Fathers,” see 39 Mercer L. Rev. 997 (1988).

For comment on equitable adoption, equitable legitimation, and inheritance in extralegal family arrangements, see 48 Emory L.J. 943 (1999).

For annual survey article discussing wills, trusts and administration of estates, see 51 Mercer L. Rev. 487 (1999).

For note, “Status or Contract? A Comparative Analysis of Inheritance Rights under Equitable Adoption and Domestic Partnership Doctrines,” 39 Ga. L. Rev. 675 (2005).

For annual survey on domestic relations law, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 121 (2012).