To file for divorce in Georgia, at least one spouse must have lived in the state for six months before starting the process.
You can choose between two types of divorce in Georgia: no-fault and fault-based. With a no-fault divorce, you ask the court to end your marriage because it’s irreparably damaged. For a fault-based divorce, you must clearly state the reasons for ending the marriage.
Twelve grounds for divorce
Georgia has twelve fault-based divorce grounds in addition to the no-fault reason of irretrievable breakdown. These include:
- Adultery is committed by either spouse after marriage.
- Addiction, which qualifies as habitual and persistent usage of illicit drugs.
- Mental Incapacity, which one spouse was suffering from at the time of the marriage.
- Incurable mental illness as determined by a qualified practitioner.
- Intermarriage, or the union of closely related individuals through blood or marriage within limited degrees of consanguinity or affinity.
- Habitual intoxication.
- Pregnancy that is the result of the wife having extramarital relations, without her husband’s knowledge.
- Impotency at the time of the marriage.
- Force or Fraud, with the marriage being coerced or conducted under deceitful conditions.
- Desertion or prolonged abandonment by either party that lasts for at least one year.
- Cruel treatment which intentionally causes physical or mental agony to the complaining person, to the extent that it properly raises concerns for the safety of their life, body or well-being.
- Conviction due to one spouse committing a morally heinous offense that leads to a jail term of two or more years.
Before awarding a divorce, the court must wait 30 days after serving the respondent. If you plan to file for divorce, seek assistance with filing under the proper grounds.