In most states a parent is considered to have abandoned a child if the parent does not make contact with the child and withholds financial support for a period of one or two years. Abandonment may be a basis to terminate a parent’s parental rights. But most states will not terminate a parent’s legal rights and obligations unless there is another adult—often a family member or stepparent—who wants to formally adopt the child.

Abandonment may result in criminal charges if a parent or guardian leaves a child under a certain age (15, for example) in any place and circumstance under which no reasonable adult would do so. For example, leaving a 8 year old child at the shopping mall may result in criminal charges of abandonment.

In Georgia, abandonment is defined under the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) § 19-10-1 as a parent's willful and voluntary forsaking of parental duties, which includes failing to provide for the child's support without justifiable cause for a period of at least 30 days. In terms of terminating parental rights, O.C.G.A. § 15-11-310 states that abandonment is one of the grounds for termination if the court finds that the parent has failed significantly for a period of one year or longer before the filing of the termination petition to communicate or to make a bona fide attempt to communicate with the child or to provide for the care and support of the child as required by law or judicial decree. The termination of parental rights in Georgia typically requires a finding that such action is in the best interests of the child, and often, as noted, it is considered when another adult is willing to step in to adopt the child. Regarding criminal charges, under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-70, a parent or guardian who willfully deprives a child under the age of 18 of necessary sustenance to the extent that the child's health or well-being is jeopardized may be charged with cruelty to children, which can include situations that might be characterized as abandonment.