Divorce

In general

Marriage is a civil contract which can be dissolved only as provided by law, either by a divorce or an annulment. There must be a proceeding in the Superior Court of the county in which the person seeking the divorce or annulment must prove “grounds.”

Georgia grounds for divorce

In Georgia, there are 13 grounds for divorce. One is "irretrievably broken" (the "no-fault" ground).

"Fault" grounds

To obtain a divorce on one of the 12 "fault" grounds, one must prove there was some wrongdoing by one of the parties to the marriage. The "fault" grounds include adultery, desertion, mental or physical cruel treatment, marriage between persons who are too closely related, mental incapacity at the time of marriage, impotency at the time of marriage, force or fraud in obtaining the marriage, pregnancy of the wife unknown to the husband at the time of the marriage, conviction and imprisonment for certain crimes, habitual intoxication or drug addiction and mental illness.

Residency requirement

Georgia must have been the last domicile of the marriage or one spouse must have lived in Georgia for six months.

Separation requirement

Regardless of living arrangements, spouses must be separated in the legal sense before one can file for a divorce.

Once a spouse files

The spouse who receives the complaint should promptly consult a lawyer. If an answer is not filed within 30 days, the right to contest the complaint may be lost.

Time frame

An uncontested divorce may be granted 31 days after the defendant has been served with the complaint for divorce. If there is even one contested issue, the divorce will be obtained when the case reaches the court, which can take many months.

Temporary hearing

A temporary hearing resolves the issues of child custody, visitation, child support, alimony, debts and possession of property until the final trial. The temporary order may also prohibit one party from interfering with the other party or the children and prevent the transfer and selling of assets.

Final trial

At the final trial, both spouses present evidence by their own testimony and may call other witnesses. The decision rendered by a judge or jury is written into a court order that is binding upon both parties. Questions of child custody and visitation are decided by the judge. The judge alone or a 12 person jury will resolve all of the financial issues of the marriage.

Child custody

In determining custody, the judge considers what’s in the child’s best interest. Neither parent is automatically entitled to custody. The judge reviews many factors including the age and sex of the child, compatibility with each parent and the ability of each parent to care for and nurture the child.

Shared custody

The court can award joint custody instead of sole custody. In awarding joint custody, the court may order joint legal custody, joint physical custody or both.

Child support

The child support law in Georgia is based on an "income shares" model that requires consideration of both parties' gross incomes. Once the monthly gross income of each party is determined, the two incomes are added together to get the combined adjusted income amount. A Child Support Obligation Table is then used to get the Basic Child Support Obligation. That Basic Child Support Obligation is then applied to each parent's proportionate share of the combined adjusted income.

The cost of medical insurance and work-related childcare will result in the amount of the child support payment being modified with credit being given to the parent who is paying these expenses. In addition, the amount of child support may be modified if it is in the best interest of the child to deviate from the presumptive amount of child support. Examples of deviations may be extraordinary education expenses; extraordinary medical expenses or special expenses which exceed 7 percent of the basic child support obligation.

Alimony

Alimony is payment by one spouse to the other for support and maintenance. The court may grant alimony to either the husband or the wife. Alimony may be for a limited period or until the spouse receiving alimony dies or remarries. It may be paid in one payment of money or property or it may be paid over a period of time.

Shared property

All property acquired during the marriage is shared, marital property, except for property received by individual gift or inheritance. Each spouse is entitled to an equitable share of marital property regardless of which party holds title to the property.

Uncontested divorce

Even when both parties agree on all matters, a lawyer will ensure that all matters that should be resolved in a divorce are resolved. Acting without a lawyer could end up being a costly mistake both to the parties and to their children.

Family Violence

Victims of family violence can file a petition with the Superior Court. To file, the parties need not be married, but must live in the same household. The court may order eviction of the offending party from the residence or provide suitable alternate housing for the victim.

A lawyer is not necessary to file a Family Violence Petition. The clerk of the Sup-erior Court in the victim's residing county may provide forms for the Petition or be able to direct a victim to a family violence shelter or social service agency for direction.

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