§ 19-11-124 - Receipt of petition of pleading by responding Georgia tribunal; action authorized; limitations

O.C.G.A. 19-11-124 (2010)
19-11-124. Receipt of petition of pleading by responding Georgia tribunal; action authorized; limitations


(a) When a responding tribunal of Georgia receives a petition or comparable pleading from an initiating tribunal or directly pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 19-11-120, it shall cause the petition or pleading to be filed and notify the petitioner where and when it was filed.

(b) A responding tribunal of Georgia, to the extent otherwise authorized by law, may do one or more of the following:

(1) Issue or enforce a support order, modify a child support order, or render a judgment to determine parentage;

(2) Order an obligor to comply with a support order, specifying the amount and the manner of compliance;

(3) Order income withholding;

(4) Determine the amount of any arrearages and specify a method of payment;

(5) Enforce orders by civil or criminal contempt, or both;

(6) Set aside property for satisfaction of the support order;

(7) Place liens and order execution on the obligor's property;

(8) Order an obligor to keep the tribunal informed of the obligor's current residential address, telephone number, employer, address of employment, and telephone number at the place of employment;

(9) Issue an order for the arrest of an obligor who has failed after proper notice to appear at a hearing ordered by the tribunal and enter the arrest order in any local and state computer systems;

(10) Order the obligor to seek appropriate employment by specified methods;

(11) Award reasonable attorney's fees and other fees and costs; and

(12) Grant any other available remedy.

(c) A responding tribunal of Georgia shall include in a support order issued under this article, or in the documents accompanying the order, the calculations on which the support order is based.

(d) A responding tribunal of Georgia may not condition the payment of a support order issued under this article upon compliance by a party with provisions for visitation.

(e) If a responding tribunal of Georgia issues an order under this article, the tribunal shall send a copy of the order to the petitioner and the respondent and to the initiating tribunal, if any.