Family agreements and planning under Georgia law Family agreements and planning under Georgia law

Georgia enforces prenups under the three-part test of Scherer v. Scherer: (1) was the agreement obtained through fraud, duress, mistake, or material misrepresentation or nondisclosure? (2) is it unconscionable? (3) have facts and circumstances changed since execution so as to make enforcement unfair and unreasonable? That third prong is Georgia's distinctive feature — a change-of-circumstances review at enforcement that most states don't run, and that Georgia drafting must anticipate. Statutory formalities apply too: agreements "in contemplation of marriage" must be in writing, signed, and attested per OCGA § 19-3-62 et seq.

Postnups are likewise enforceable in Georgia under parallel scrutiny, with the confidential relationship between spouses raising the disclosure bar. And a Georgia-specific power move: because Georgia's alimony bar and wide-open equitable division create huge outcome variance, a well-drafted agreement doesn't just protect assets — it deletes the variance. Full treatment: prenuptial and postnuptial agreements in Georgia.

Georgia abolished common-law marriage for relationships formed after January 1, 1997 — valid pre-1997 Georgia common-law marriages survive and Georgia recognizes those validly formed elsewhere. For everyone else: no equitable division, no alimony, no intestate inheritance, no default medical authority. Georgia enforces written cohabitation contracts between unmarried partners (the consideration must stand apart from the relationship itself), which makes the written agreement the entire legal architecture for unmarried Georgia couples. Details: cohabitation agreements in Georgia.

Georgia's adoption code (Title 19, Chapter 8 — rewritten effective 2018) governs stepparent, relative, agency, and private adoptions through superior court. Distinctive Georgia features: a birth mother's surrender may be executed no earlier than 24 hours after birth, followed by a strict four-business-day revocation window — after which the surrender is final; a putative father registry (plainly: an unmarried possible father must register to guarantee notice of an adoption) alongside Georgia's "legitimation" doctrine, a separate proceeding an unmarried father needs to establish full parental rights; and 2018-era modernizations that eased adult adoption and streamlined process. Details: adoption in Georgia.

Georgia's estate rules have a trap the other states largely fixed: divorce makes a will operate as if the ex-spouse predeceased — but Georgia does not automatically revoke beneficiary designations on life insurance and many nonprobate assets. The un-updated designation pays the ex. Coordination isn't optional here: estate planning and divorce in Georgia.

Brown Carrington drafts Georgia agreements that eliminate courtroom variance — which, in Georgia, is saying something.