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Prttyhoney6 · Oct 22, 2008, 05:53 PM

I moved to Atlanta in July 07' from NYC. I have a court order for child support and my daughter's father was paying until I moved here. Since I've been here, he's stopped paying child support altogether and tell me to take him back to court. Can I file for child abandonment since its been over 30 days? If so, I live in Cobb county but my court order was for Fayette county.. can I still file in cobb?

Fr_Chuck · Oct 22, 2008, 07:05 PM

Ok, he has not abandaned the chilid, he has not left her off at the bus station,
You are looking at two ideas one is for a reason to use for a divorce, figure that already has happened.
In GA merely not paying child support or not seeing the child is not grounds to do anything expect to file for a new custody order and to turn it over to child support enforcement.

** note when you moved from NYC, many child custody order states you can not leave the state without the consent of the other person, So did you check to see ifyou could legally move out of state?

But what you do is exactly what he said, take him back to court, GA has a great child support enforcement group, turn to them for help in getting the child's money

LadyinRed4 · Nov 13, 2008, 12:31 PM

Georgia law states:
§ 19-10-1. Child abandonment; defenses and paternity testing; natal expenses and future support; verdicts, sentencing, and punishment
a) A child abandoned by its father or mother shall be considered to be in a dependent condition when the father or mother does not furnish sufficient food, clothing, or shelter for the needs of the child.

Yes, you can file for abandonment if he is behind in child support payments

ScottGem · Nov 13, 2008, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by LadyinRed4

Georgia law states:
§ 19-10-1. Child abandonment; Yes, you can file for abandonment if he is behind in child support payments

Sorry LadyInRed but you are misreading the statutes.

Child abandonment, under 19-10-1 provides for leaving the child totally uncared for. Which is not the case here.

The OP may use abandonment as a ground for something else, like getting rights terminated, but not as a charge against the father. But it appears that abandonment is not what she wants, but rather to enforce the support order. If what she wants is to terminate rights, then I doubt if that will be allowed unless she has someone waiting to adopt.

Chuck's question about whether she had permission to move is pertinent, though its not sufficient reason for the father to stop paying support.

LadyinRed4 · Nov 13, 2008, 01:26 PM

My son lives in Cobb County also. He has custody of my granddaughter. His ex has not paid any child support for 7 years, almost $20,000. Even though the non custodial parent lives in Gwinnett, they have not been able to serve her. When she gets a job, she just quits when her employer receives notice to start garnishing her wages and she never stays in the same place for longer than a few months. Any location information I get, I give to them, but it takes months before they will do anything about it and by then she is gone.

Cobb County Child Support Recovery themselves told my son to file these abandonment charges. Then if she gets pulled over for a traffic ticket, she can be served the court papers. Then when she doesn't show up for court, a warrant can then be made.

The law reads:
If the mother or father of a child, which is either legitimate or born out of wedlock, abandons the child who is in a dependent condition, the abandoning parent commits the crime of child abandonment. When the abandoning parent does not furnish sufficient food, clothing, or shelter for the needs of the child, the child shall be considered to be in a dependent condition. O.C.G.A. 19-10-1.

Child abandonment shall be punishable as a misdemeanor, unless the abandoning parent leaves the state while the abandoned child is in a dependent condition. In that event, the abandoning parent shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment of not less than one nor more than three years.

If the non custodial parent has not paid or is behind in their child support (money to help pay for sufficient food, clothing or shelter) then they can have these charges brought up against them.

I suggest you contact child support services for yourself. At least it is a start. I wish you better luck with Cobb County then my son has had.

ScottGem · Nov 13, 2008, 04:27 PM

The point you are missing here is the definition of "dependent condition". A child living with another parent is NOT in a dependent condition. From the non custodial parent.

I know of no state that has a criminal charge of abandonment in such cases. And there should be no reason to use that as you describe. Just the fact of violating a court order for support should be sufficient to swear out a warrant that would result in an arrest if caught on any other charge.

cdad · Nov 13, 2008, 07:10 PM

I agree with Scott on the abandonment charge. If you were to try to make it stick then what your really claiming is that your son is not able to care for his child. Is this true ? Then maybe he would need to give the child up. If its not true then there is no abandonment. There is neglegence for sure and a violation of an existing support order.

LadyinRed4 · Nov 14, 2008, 05:23 AM

I am not a lawyer. I am speaking on personal experience not opinion. Cobb County Child Support Recovery told my son to file abandonment on the mother. I can only assume that they are the experts and hopefully know what they are doing.

I also understand that the laws are different in different states.

The cost of raising a child is split between the mother and father:
When the abandoning parent does not furnish sufficient food, clothing, or shelter for the needs of the child, the child shall be considered to be in a dependent condition. O.C.G.A. 19-10-1.
It doesn't say both parents here... it says the abandoning parent (mother OR father). Therefore, if one of the parents doesn't supply these needs than the child shall be considered to be in a dependent condition.

If the mother or father of a child, which is either legitimate or born out of wedlock, abandons the child who is in a dependent condition, the abandoning parent commits the crime of child abandonment.
Again, it says mother OR father, not both.

Cobb County's website:
https://services.georgia.gov/dhr/cspp/do/public/Welcome

I am sure Cobb County can help you Prttyhoney6.

ScottGem · Nov 14, 2008, 06:46 AM

OK, I've done some further research and it appears that Georgia has made this issue more complicated then it need be. Instead of doing what just about every other state does and enforce failure to pay child support as contempt of court, GA essentially makes it a misdemeanor under the guise of an abandonment charge. I suppose this is done so it can be used even where no court order for support has been made. In fact, it appears that the custodial parent has to press abandonment charges to get CSE to act where support is not being paid.

Makes no sense to me, since contempt of court should be sufficient for the state to take action.

cdad · Nov 14, 2008, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

OK, I've done some further research and it appears that Georgia has made this issue more complicated then it need be. Instead of doing what just about every other state does and enforce failure to pay child support as contempt of court, GA essentially makes it a misdemeanor under the guise of an abandonment charge. I suppose this is done so it can be used even where no court order for support has been made. In fact, it appears that the custodial parent has to press abandonment charges to get CSE to act where support is not being paid.

Makes no sense to me, since contempt of court should be sufficient for the state to take action.

If you follow this out to its logical end then the parent that decides they want nothing to do with the other parent.. i.e. not collect child support would also be guilty under this law because they had refused an attempt to fulfill the child's " right " to child support. Or is this another example of how one sided the law can be in a family situation ?

And also for LAdyinRed4 : ( quote )
I am not a lawyer. I am speaking on personal experience not opinion. Cobb County Child Support Recovery told my son to file abandonment on the mother. I can only assume that they are the experts and hopefully know what they are doing.
( end quote )

That would be a wrong assumption but a common one to think they are " experts " of any kind. Its more common that the people that work there have no real knowlage of how law works nor do they care to. They have a quota system they must fill and can / will do anything to make it. If you look around this board you will see many many examples of how they overstepped their lines.

ScottGem · Nov 14, 2008, 01:44 PM

I was going to say something similar about assuming CSE being experts. Generally these people are not versed in the law. But in this case they seem to be.

kellarrendale · Aug 23, 2010, 08:43 AM

I will say that I live in Henry county Georgia, and if the father is behind in child support and there is an order in place then you can file for abandonment or if he has disappeared and out of the picture which is probably obvious that the payments are not being made then you can file an abandonment order also. You do however have to know a valid address for the absent parent. They will have a warrant put out he will then have to bail out of jail, you however will not get this money the county will. Then from there his child support order and his arrears he or she will be made to pay. This will get a case with CSE started most of the time. It is a cheaper way of getting an order than having to pay a lawyer I suppose. I have had to do this twice, so I know from experience this is how it works for the most part.