What exactly is abandonment?

[Mark0303]

If my child's mother left me and my daughter and hasn't come back or done anything for my child in over 2 months, but my child is not legitimized as of now, is this considered abandonment? My child is 19 months old and her mom and I were never married. She decided she did not want the job of full-time motherhood and left to pursue other"interests". I live in HenryCo., GA but mother of child's whereabouts are unknown at this time.

 

[army judge]

If my child's mother left me and my daughter and hasn't come back or done anything for my child in over 2 months, but my child is not legitimized as of now, is this considered abandonment? My child is 19 months old and her mom and I were never married. She decided she did not want the job of full-time motherhood and left to pursue other"interests". I live in HenryCo., GA but mother of child's whereabouts are unknown at this time.

The abandonment in this case is of the child.
You and this woman are unmarried.
Georgia takes what this woman did very seriously.
If convicted of this crime, it COULD be a felony.
You should immediately contact the police and file a report.

If you haven't established paternity, you need to do that ASAP!
The child might NOT be yours, then things get really complicated.

Abandonment of Spouse or Child​

§ 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.


(b) If any father or mother willfully and voluntarily abandons his or her child, either legitimate or born out of wedlock, leaving it in a dependent condition, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Moreover, if any father or mother willfully and voluntarily abandons his or her child, either legitimate or born out of wedlock, leaving it in a dependent condition, and leaves this state or if any father or mother willfully and voluntarily abandons his or her child, either legitimate or born out of wedlock, leaving it in a dependent condition, after leaving this state, he or she shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than three years. The felony shall be reducible to a misdemeanor. Any person, upon conviction of the third offense for violating this Code section, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than three years, which felony shall not be reducible to a misdemeanor. The husband and wife shall be competent witnesses in such cases to testify for or against the other.


(c) The offense of abandonment is a continuing offense. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Code section, former acquittal or conviction of the offense shall not be a bar to further prosecution therefor under this Code section, if it is made to appear that the child in question was in a dependent condition, as defined in this Code section, for a period of 30 days prior to the commencement of prosecution.


(d) In prosecutions under this Code section when the child is born out of wedlock, the venue of the offense shall be in the county in which the child and the mother are domiciled at the time of the swearing out of the arrest warrant; but, if the child and the mother are domiciled in different counties, venue shall be in the county in which the child is domiciled.


(e) Upon the trial of an accused father or mother under this Code section, it shall be no defense that the accused father or mother has never supported the child.


(f) In the trial of any abandonment proceeding in which the question of parentage arises, regardless of any presumptions with respect to parentage, the accused father may request a paternity blood test and agree and arrange to pay for same; and in such cases the court before which the matter is brought, upon pretrial motion of the defendant, shall order that the alleged parent, the known natural parent, and the child submit to any blood tests and comparisons which have been developed and adapted for purposes of establishing or disproving parentage and which are reasonably accessible to the alleged parent, the known natural parent, and the child. The results of those blood tests and comparisons, including the statistical likelihood of the alleged parent's parentage, if available, shall be admitted in evidence when offered by a duly qualified, licensed practicing physician, duly qualified immunologist, duly qualified geneticist, or other duly qualified person. Upon receipt of a motion and the entry of an order under this subsection, the court shall proceed as follows:

(1) Where the issue of parentage is to be decided by a jury, where the results of those blood tests and comparisons are not shown to be inconsistent with the results of any other blood tests and comparisons, and where the results of those blood tests and comparisons indicate that the alleged parent cannot be the natural parent of the child, the jury shall be instructed that if they believe that the witness presenting the results testified truthfully as to those results and if they believe that the tests and comparisons were conducted properly, then it will be their duty to decide that the alleged parent is not the natural parent;

(2) The court shall require the defendant requesting the blood tests and comparisons pursuant to this subsection to be initially responsible for any of the expenses thereof. Upon the entry of a verdict incorporating a finding of parentage or nonparentage, the court shall tax the expenses for blood tests and comparisons, in addition to any fees for expert witnesses whose testimonies supported the admissibility thereof, as costs.


(g) In prosecutions under this Code section, when the child is born out of wedlock and the accused father is convicted, the father may be required by the court to pay the reasonable medical expenses paid by or incurred on behalf of the mother due to the birth of the child.


(h) The accused father and the mother of a child born out of wedlock may enter into a written agreement providing for future support of the child by regular periodic payments to the mother until the child reaches the age of 18 years, marries, or becomes self-supporting; provided, however, that the agreement shall not be binding on either party until it has been approved by the court having jurisdiction to try the pending case.


(i) If, during the trial of any person charged with the offense of abandonment as defined in this Code section, the person contends that he or she is not the father or mother of the child alleged to have been abandoned, in a jury trial the trial judge shall charge the jury that if its verdict is for the acquittal of the person and its reason for so finding is that the person is not the father or mother of the child alleged to have been abandoned, then its verdict shall so state. In a trial before the court without the intervention of the jury, if the court renders a verdict of acquittal based on the contention of the person that he or she is not the father or mother of the child alleged to have been abandoned, the trial judge shall so state this fact in his verdict of acquittal. Where the verdict of the jury or the court is for acquittal of a person on the grounds that the person is not the father or mother of the child alleged to have been abandoned, the person cannot thereafter again be tried for the offense of abandoning the child, and the verdict of acquittal shall be a bar to all civil and criminal proceedings attempting to compel the person to support the child.


(j)(1) In a prosecution for and conviction of the offense of abandonment, the trial court may suspend the service of the sentence imposed in the case, upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe for the support, by the defendant, of the child or children abandoned during the minority of the child or children. Service of the sentence, when so suspended, shall not begin unless and until ordered by the court having jurisdiction thereof, after a hearing as in cases of revocation or probated sentences, because of the failure or refusal of the defendant to comply with the terms and conditions upon which service of a sentence was suspended.

(2) Service of any sentence suspended in abandonment cases may be ordered by the court having jurisdiction thereof at any time before the child or children reach the age of 18 or become emancipated, after a hearing as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection and a finding by the court that the defendant has failed or refused to comply with the terms and conditions upon which service of the sentence was suspended by the court having jurisdiction thereof.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, in abandonment cases where the suspension of sentence has been revoked and the defendant is serving the sentence, the court may thereafter again suspend the service of sentence under the same terms and conditions as the original suspension. The sentence shall not be considered probated and the defendant shall not be on probation, but the defendant shall again be under a suspended sentence. However, the combined time of incarceration of the defendant during the periods of revocation of suspended sentences shall not exceed the maximum period of punishment for the offense.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the terms and conditions prescribed by the court as to support by the defendant shall be subject to review and modification by the court, upon notice and hearing to the defendant, as to the ability of the defendant to furnish support and as to the adequacy of the present support payments to the child's or children's needs. The review provided for in this paragraph as to the ability of the defendant to furnish support and as to the adequacy of the present support payments to the child's or children's needs shall not be had in less than two-year intervals and shall authorize the court to increase as well as to decrease the amount of child support to be paid as a term and condition of the suspended sentence. The review as to ability to support and adequacy of support shall not be equivalent to a hearing held in cases of revocation of probated sentences for purposes of service of the suspended sentence; nor shall a modification, if any, be deemed a change in sentence; nor shall a modification, if any, be deemed to change the suspended sentence to a probated sentence.


Current through end of the 2006 Regular Session

 

[Mark0303]

I went to the Juvenile Court Clerk and they told me to file a "Petition for Deprevation". Is this the same or something different than I need in this situation? And also, there is an active court case wherein she has been charged with Family Violence Battery, Domestic Battery, and Cruelty to Children in 3rd degree for an assault on me in a grocery store parking lot the day after she left us. That was our last contact, and court date is next week. Will this have any affect on the abandonment filing?

 

[Proserpina]

Very likely actually.

It bolsters the case considerably, though moreso if she's actually convicted.

File an ex parte order for custody IMMEDIATELY, and request a GAL (guardian at litem) be appointed.

(And that Mom pay for the GAL....)

 

[army judge]

I went to the Juvenile Court Clerk and they told me to file a "Petition for Deprevation". Is this the same or something different than I need in this situation? And also, there is an active court case wherein she has been charged with Family Violence Battery, Domestic Battery, and Cruelty to Children in 3rd degree for an assault on me in a grocery store parking lot the day after she left us. That was our last contact, and court date is next week. Will this have any affect on the abandonment filing?

Your best bet is to notify the police that she abandoned her child.

If she turns up at "room temperature", and you haven't reported her missing, they're going to grill you.

The police will then apply the law.

What she's done is abandon HER child.

If you haven't done a DNA test, it MIGHT not be your child.

Then things could get nasty for you.

If it isn't your child, you could be depriving the REAL father of his child.

So, get the DNA test.

If you've done that, make sure you have the proof.

If you've signed the birth certificate, that is dispositive, but not necessarily proof of paternity.

 

[Duranie]

I do not see how the police would care, but the issue is if you are not the legal father (are you on any of the birth paperwork or cert?) then you are a legal stranger and social services could come and try to take the child if someone files a complaint. You need to see an attorney and establish paternity and file for custody. You might want to google establishing paternity fofr your state to see what the process is.

 

[army judge]

I do not see how the police would care, but the issue is if you are not the legal father (are you on any of the birth paperwork or cert?) then you are a legal stranger and social services could come and try to take the child if someone files a complaint. You need to see an attorney and establish paternity and file for custody. You might want to google establishing paternity fofr your state to see what the process is.

Abandoning your child in Georgia is a crime.

That is why the police would be concerned and interested.

It can become a felony.

Furthermore, if she went missing two months ago and is found stiff as a board at room temperature, who might the police want to speak with?

 

[mightymoose]

I do not see how the police would care...

They won't particularly care, but making a missing person report is essential here. If the woman turns up anywhere else for any other reason she will be flagged and they will know to hold on to her. I am guessing she probably has frequent police contact... so they need to know she is missing.

 

[Proserpina]

A quick recap of OP's post history makes this situation sound even more alarming.

Mark, you seriously need to call the police.

Frankly with Mom's instability and the custody matters, I'm surprised it hasn't already been done!

 

[Mark0303]

OK, the mother is not "lost", she just decided she would rather go party and live the "free-life" with no responsibilites. And from what I have been able to find on my own, 1 year has to go by with no attempted contacted by her to our daughter for abandonment to be filed against her. Is that correct or no? If so, what are my options? With my financial situation, my daughter and I are watching and using each penny wisely, and I don't have the extra $255.00 to serve her and file legitimation papers right now, much less hire an attorney. I am asking these things because of a remark by her leaving the courtroom Wed. that if she goes to jail, she will be signing custody of my daughter over to a friend of her's that works for a Judge in our county. I don't want that to happen, but I can't get the "free" legal services like she can, seemingly because I am a man. No TPO without an attorney's help is what the court told me because she was a client of the victim's advocate agency in our county during her last relationship with a different guy. No one will listen to me, and it seems like the only reason is that I am male. I don't understand the prejudice against me and my case, when there is so much assistance offered to women who are going through the EXACT things I am. Why is there no assistance for men who are loving fathers and are being abused by women?

 

[Mark0303]

I think it is a terrible thing that with the divorce rate as it is, that there are people who don't treat their kids like they should but are exempted from these things just because they were married when their kids were born. I don't need a piece of paper to know I am the Daddy my daughter needs, knows, and loves. It seems like a money maker for the system is all. Where is the justice for my daughter if she is taken away from the only life and people she has known since birth because of some paperwork they charge an arm and a leg to file? It's just sad, really.

 

[Proserpina]

OK, the mother is not "lost", she just decided she would rather go party and live the "free-life" with no responsibilites.

From earlier post:

I live in HenryCo., GA but mother of child's whereabouts are unknown at this time.

Which is it?

And from what I have been able to find on my own, 1 year has to go by with no attempted contacted by her to our daughter for abandonment to be filed against her. Is that correct or no? If so, what are my options? With my financial situation, my daughter and I are watching and using each penny wisely, and I don't have the extra $255.00 to serve her and file legitimation papers right now, much less hire an attorney. I am asking these things because of a remark by her leaving the courtroom Wed.

Um...so you saw her...yesterday?

that if she goes to jail, she will be signing custody of my daughter over to a friend of her's that works for a Judge in our county.

That certainly isn't going to happen.

I don't want that to happen, but I can't get the "free" legal services like she can, seemingly because I am a man.

It has nothing to do with gender.

No TPO without an attorney's help is what the court told me because she was a client of the victim's advocate agency in our county during her last relationship with a different guy. No one will listen to me, and it seems like the only reason is that I am male. I don't understand the prejudice against me and my case, when there is so much assistance offered to women who are going through the EXACT things I am. Why is there no assistance for men who are loving fathers and are being abused by women?

There is no prejudice against you.

You just need to do things legally.

 

[Mark0303]

Yes, at court for the arraignment of her assault charges. Case is sheduled to be heard next week. The Solicitor General sent me a letter telling me I should be there, but wasn't required to be. I didn't speak to her and the comment was made as she walked out of the courtroom. Not directly to me, but directed at me.

And what I meant was, I don't know where she is calling home these days, but I know she is still residing locally. She just hasn't been with my daughter and I.

 

[Mark0303]

And if you believe there is no prejudice against me because of my gender, let me inform you. I have had three different people on the telephone call me the "abuser" just because they heard a man's voice. I called all the agencies my advocate told me to call, such as LegalAid, Legal Services of GA, etc. The conversation went like this: "Hello?_Yes, I am calling about a case I am having with my child's mother, my ex-girlfriend, and would like to talk with someone to see if I could get help with it._Oh, well we only help the victim, not the abuser." When I tried to explain I am the "victim", 2 of them hung up and one put me on hold and never came back. No prejudice? What is it then?

 

[army judge]

I think it is a terrible thing that with the divorce rate as it is, that there are people who don't treat their kids like they should but are exempted from these things just because they were married when their kids were born. I don't need a piece of paper to know I am the Daddy my daughter needs, knows, and loves. It seems like a money maker for the system is all. Where is the justice for my daughter if she is taken away from the only life and people she has known since birth because of some paperwork they charge an arm and a leg to file? It's just sad, really.

Establishing paternity in Georgia isn't costly.
The state will help pay for the test.
It could be, after all, YOUR child.
It doesn't belong to the taxpayers!
If you don't establish paternity (in one of three ways), you have no standing to keep the child.

Here is how you establish paternity in Georgia.
If you fail to do this (whether you agree or not), you'll lose the child.
A mother's right to maternity is established at birth.

There is help.
You just have to know where to look for it.

Father must prove paternity (in Georgia) by one of the three protocols:​

Establishing paternity for a child in Georgia may be done in one of the following ways:
1. the child's parents are legally married to each other at the time of the child's birth;

2. unwed parents sign a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment Form
a. at the hospital when the child is born, or later at either
b. the State Office of Vital Records in Atlanta or
c. the Vital Records Office in the county where the child was born;

3. Court order (divorce decree, separation agreement, or other judicial or administrative order).

How do I Establish Paternity for my Child?​

Establishing paternity for a child in Georgia may be done in one of the following ways:
1. the child's parents are legally married to each other at the time of the child's birth;

2. unwed parents sign a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment Form
a. at the hospital when the child is born, or later at either
b. the State Office of Vital Records in Atlanta or
c. the Vital Records Office in the county where the child was born;

3. Court order (divorce decree, separation agreement, or other judicial or administrative order).

Paternity establishment by the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) may be processed through a local Superior Court or through an Administrative Court, depending on the county of your residence. Genetic testing is available in both these processes.

Additionally, if unwed parents have established paternity through the Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment Program, the OCSS will take action(s) to obtain and enforce other services for you; i.e., monetary child support and/or health insurance for your child.

There is no cost to you for establishing paternity through the OCSS except for the application for services fee and the cost of genetic testing (if the test results indicate the alleged father is the biological parent of the child). Currently, the cost for genetic testing is $31.00 per person. For mother, father and child, the total cost of genetic testing through OCSS is $93.00


http://ocse.dhr.georgia.gov/portal/...toid=d46a10ad92000010VgnVCM100000bf01010aRCRD