Please note: local and state laws change constantly. This information is for educational purposes only. We do our best to keep this up-to-date, but please contact us to discuss your unique situation.
Getting Divorced in Georgia
The following grounds are sufficient to authorize the granting of divorce:
No Fault
- The marriage is irretrievably broken. This requires 30 days from the date of service on the respondent.
Fault
- Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of blood relations or affinity;
- Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage;
- Impotency at the time of the marriage;
- Force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage;
- Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband, at the time of the marriage, unknown to the husband;
- Adultery in either of the parties after marriage;
- Willful and continued desertion by either of the parties for the term of one year;
- The conviction of either party for an offense involving moral turpitude, under which he is sentenced to imprisonment in a penal institution for a term of 2 years or longer;
- Habitual intoxication;
- Cruel treatment, consisting of the willful infliction of pain, bodily or mental, upon the complaining party, that reasonably justifies fear of danger to life, limb, or health;
- Incurable mental illness;
- Habitual drug addiction.
Residency Requirements
The court will not grant a divorce to any person who has not been a bona fide resident of Georgia for 6 months before the filing of the petition for divorce. Any person who has been a resident of any United States army post or military reservation within Georgia for one year preceding the filing of the petition may bring an action for divorce in any county adjacent to the United States army post or military reservation. A nonresident of Georgia may file a petition for divorce, in the county of residence of the respondent, against any person who has been a resident of Georgia and of the county in which the action is brought for a period of 6 months prior to the filing of the petition.
Waiting Period
The court will approve a dissolution of marriage 31 days following the filing of a petition to divorce.
Georgia Divorce Laws and Marriage Laws
You can find a complete listing of the Georgia divorce laws by searching “divorce” here.
Georgia Divorce Information by County
