Foreign Child Support Orders Entered in Other States

If you have read our other articles in the child support modification series, you have hopefully learned valuable information regarding the modification of child support orders issued by Georgia courts. However, many parents face the issue of attempting to modify child support orders entered in other states. Modification of child support orders entered in other states are governed by a different section of Georgia law than actions to modify child support orders entered in Georgia. According to the relevant sections of Georgia law:

A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child support order issued in another state shall register that order in Georgia in the same manner provided in Code Sections 19-11-160 through 19-11-163 if the order has not been registered. A petition for modification may be filed at the same time as a request for registration, or later. The pleading must specify the grounds for modification.

O.C.G.A. § 19-11-168.

In order to register a child support order entered in another state, the following steps must be taken:

(a) A support order or income-withholding order of another state may be registered in Georgia by sending the following documents and information to the appropriate tribunal in Georgia:
   (1) A letter of transmittal to the tribunal requesting registration and enforcement;
   (2) Two copies, including one certified copy, of all orders to be registered, including any modification of an order;
   (3) A sworn statement by the party seeking registration or a certified statement by the custodian of the records showing the amount of any arrearage;
   (4) The name of the obligor and, if known:
      (A) The obligor's address and social security number;
      (B) The name and address of the obligor's employer and any other source of income of the obligor; and
      (C) A description and the location of property of the obligor in Georgia not exempt from execution; and
 (5) The name and address of the obligee and, if applicable, the agency or person to whom support payments are to be remitted.
(b) On receipt of a request for registration, the registering tribunal shall cause the order to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one copy of the documents and information, regardless of their form.
(c) A petition, motion, or comparable filing seeking a remedy that must be affirmatively sought under other laws of this state, and discovery incident thereto, may be filed at the same time as the request for registration or later. The pleading, motion, or other filing must specify the grounds for the remedy sought. For purposes of this subsection, remedies sought may include, but are not limited to, a rule for contempt or a petition for entry of an income deduction order.

O.C.G.A. § 19-11-161. See also O.C.G.A. § 19-11-160 and 19-11-162.