Georgia

All states

Luck of the Draw score: 85 out of 100

Georgia leaves property division, alimony amount and duration, and fee awards to the factfinder’s discretion, and adultery or desertion that caused the separation bars alimony. A party can ask a jury rather than the judge to decide property and alimony. On the book’s scale, 0 is a contract you can read and 100 is one that mostly says “ask the judge.” Georgia ranks 36 of 51, counting from the state that leaves the least to the judge. How the index works, and every state’s score.

Part	Score	The rule, and where it comes from
Property	15 / 20	The factfinder divides marital property equitably, and an equitable division does not have to be an equal one. Wood v. Wood, No. S07F1474 (Ga. Jan. 8, 2008) (quoting Harmon v. Harmon, 280 Ga. 118 (2005)); O.C.G.A. § 19-5-13
Alimony	20 / 20	The factfinder may grant permanent alimony after considering eight listed factors, and no statute sets a formula, cap, or maximum term. O.C.G.A. §§ 19-6-1(c), 19-6-5(a)
Fault	20 / 20	A spouse whose adultery or desertion caused the separation is barred from alimony, and the parties’ conduct during the marriage and in causing the divorce is admissible in dividing property. O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1(b); Wood v. Wood, No. S07F1474 (Ga. 2008) (citing Peters v. Peters, 248 Ga. 490 (1981))
Lawyers’ fees	20 / 20	Attorney’s fees in divorce and alimony cases are within the sound discretion of the court, which must consider the financial circumstances of both parties. O.C.G.A. § 19-6-2(a)(1)
Second opinion	10 / 20	Either party may demand a jury in writing, and the jury may decide property division and alimony, but a judge can be removed only on a motion to recuse supported by an affidavit stating specific facts. O.C.G.A. §§ 19-5-1(a), 19-5-13, 19-6-5(a); Uniform Superior Court Rules 25.1-25.2 (as quoted in Post v. State (Ga. Nov. 16, 2015))

Getting in

No waiting period. Apply at a county probate court; if either partner lives in Georgia any county works, otherwise use the county of the ceremony. A license may issue immediately with no waiting period, and the sections read set no expiration date. A six-hour premarital course taken together within 12 months removes the $40 statutory fee; other local charges remain.
O.C.G.A. §§ 19-3-30(a)-(b), 19-3-30.1(a), (c), 19-3-35, 15-9-60(k)(14)-(14.1)

Who can marry you. The Governor or a former Governor, a state or federal judge, city recorder, magistrate, minister, or other person a religious society’s rules authorize may officiate. The statute sets no witness count and does not address online ordination. Two witness affidavits come up only if a license is never returned for recording.
O.C.G.A. § 19-3-30(c), (e)

Common-law marriage: Closed to new couples. No common-law marriage can be formed in Georgia on or after January 1, 1997. Those validly formed earlier are still recognized. The Georgia Supreme Court also recognizes a common-law marriage validly established under another state’s law, and the person claiming it must prove it under that state’s law.
O.C.G.A. § 19-3-1.1; Norman v. Ault, 287 Ga. 324, 695 S.E.2d 633 (2010)

Chapter 5 of the book covers getting in, and whether you are in at all.

The property system

Georgia is one of forty-one equitable distribution jurisdictions. Equitable distribution. Each of you owns what’s in your own name during the marriage. At a divorce a judge divides the marital property as the judge finds equitable, which is not a promise of half. Chapter 11 of the book covers what that means, and Chapter 22 covers what happens to it when you move.

What counts as marital. Georgia’s rule comes from court decisions. Property acquired during the marriage is divided equitably, while premarital property, gifts and inheritances stay separate. Accumulation continues until the final divorce decree, even after separation. Growth on separate property from market forces stays separate, and growth from either spouse’s efforts is marital.
Stokes v. Stokes, 246 Ga. 765 (1980); Friedman v. Friedman, 259 Ga. 530, 384 S.E.2d 641 (1989); Bass v. Bass, 264 Ga. 506, 448 S.E.2d 366 (1994); Armour v. Holcombe, 288 Ga. 50, 701 S.E.2d 169 (2010)

An inheritance that touches a joint account

Putting it in joint names usually makes it marital. An inheritance starts as separate property, but putting it in both spouses’ names can make it marital. In Shaw, a husband opened accounts with inherited funds in both names, and the court treated them as marital; it made no difference whether the wife contributed or the money was mixed. A gift stayed separate in Bloomfield, where a husband would not allow an individual account.
Shaw v. Shaw, 290 Ga. 354, 720 S.E.2d 614 (2012); Lerch v. Lerch, 278 Ga. 885, 608 S.E.2d 223 (2005); Miller v. Miller, 288 Ga. 274, 705 S.E.2d 839 (2010); Bloomfield v. Bloomfield, 282 Ga. 108, 646 S.E.2d 207 (2007)

Chapter 12 explains how mine becomes ours.

Your spouse’s medical bills (Article 5)

Generally, you don’t owe your spouse’s bills. No Georgia statute makes one spouse liable for the other’s necessaries, and each spouse’s separate property stays separate; the husband-liability sections of the 1933 Code (§§ 53-508 and 53-510) were not carried into the current Official Code, whose only necessaries statutes cover children.
O.C.G.A. §§ 19-3-9, 19-6-13, 19-6-14 (current Title 19 has no spousal-necessaries section); former Ga. Code 1933 §§ 53-508, 53-510

Chapter 8 of the book explains the three ways states handle this.

If one of you dies (Article 9)

Georgia has no elective share; the surviving spouse and minor children may claim year’s support, which is property set aside for 12 months of support, ranks ahead of all other debts of the estate, and is sized (if contested) to keep the survivor’s prior standard of living, taking account of the survivor’s own resources and the estate’s solvency. It is taken from the decedent’s estate, so non-probate assets are not reached.
O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-3-7

Chapter 9 covers what a will can and can’t take away from a spouse.

Prenups and postnups (Article 12)

Two looks, under case law (Scherer) plus formality statutes O.C.G.A. §§ 19-3-60 to 19-3-66; Georgia has not adopted the UPAA or UPMAA. The court asks whether the agreement was obtained through fraud, duress, mistake, misrepresentation or nondisclosure of material facts; whether it is unconscionable; and whether facts and circumstances have changed since execution so as to make enforcement unfair and unreasonable. Postnuptial (reconciliation) agreements are tested by the same criteria.
Scherer v. Scherer, 249 Ga. 635 (1982); Curry v. Curry, 260 Ga. 302 (1990), as quoted in Spurlin v. Spurlin, No. S11F0864 (Ga. Oct. 3, 2011)

What an agreement needs. An antenuptial agreement must be in writing, signed by both parties, and attested by at least two witnesses, one of whom is a notary public; Scherer’s first prong requires disclosure of material facts (assets). No statute sets a waiting period, requires independent counsel, or limits alimony waivers, and an antenuptial agreement may cover year’s support, spousal support and equitable division.
O.C.G.A. §§ 19-3-60(a), 19-3-62, 19-3-63

Chapter 29 explains one look and two, and what makes agreements stick.

Children (Article 8)

Child support: income shares. Both parents’ combined adjusted income sets a basic obligation, and each parent owes a pro rata share. Since January 1, 2026, a formula adjusts for court-ordered parenting time. Support ends at 18, or by 20 if a judge extends it for secondary school. A separate proceeding can set support for an adult child incapable of self-support since minority. A court cannot order college support, but can enforce an agreement.
O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(b), (e), (g); O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15.1; 2024 Ga. Laws S.B. 454; Wood v. Wood, 257 Ga. 598, 361 S.E.2d 819 (1987)

Moving away with a child. Unless a court order says otherwise, a parent changing residence must notify the other parent at least 30 days ahead with the full new address, and a custodial parent must also notify anyone with visitation rights. If custody is challenged, the judge decides on the child’s best interests, with no presumption for or against the moving parent.
O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3(f)(3); Bodne v. Bodne, 277 Ga. 445, 588 S.E.2d 728 (2003)

Chapter 17 covers the children.

Getting out (Article 2)

How long you must live here before filing: six months. The person filing must have been a bona fide Georgia resident for six months. Someone who lived on a U.S. military post in Georgia for one year may file in an adjacent county. A nonresident may file in the other spouse’s county if that spouse has lived in Georgia and that county for six months. The rule does not depend on where the couple married.
O.C.G.A. § 19-5-2

How long it takes. One spouse can obtain a divorce on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken, without proving fault and over the other’s objection; the question is whether reconciliation is possible. The court cannot grant it until 30 days after the other spouse is served. No separation period is required.
O.C.G.A. § 19-5-3(13); Harwell v. Harwell, 233 Ga. 89 (1974)

The legal minimum for a spouse who moves here alone and files as soon as allowed, with no minor children and the other spouse objecting, is about 210 days from arrival to a final decree (180 days of residence + 30-day wait after service). Courts often take longer.

If you moved here from another state

A court here can divide property here with no power over the absent spouse. In 1997 Georgia’s Supreme Court, over a dissent, held that a court here can divide marital property located in Georgia with no personal jurisdiction over the other spouse. It can’t order alimony or attorney’s fees that way.
Abernathy v. Abernathy, 267 Ga. 815 (1997)

Public policy questions about a prenup follow Georgia law. In 1982 Georgia’s Supreme Court tested a prenup under Georgia law although the agreement said it was to be construed under Michigan law. Both parties asked for Georgia law, and the court added that public policy questions are decided under the law of this state.
Scherer v. Scherer, 249 Ga. 635 (1982)

Chapter 22 covers what changes when you move.

Each entry on this page comes from the statute, rule or case it cites, read in September or November 2026, except where the entry says it has not been checked. A rule can change after that, and a rule on paper can play out differently in a particular courthouse. No lawyer reviews these pages.

If you practice family law in Georgia and would like to correct or contribute to this page, write to me.

Meanwhile

• The default contract, with the options states choose among. Read it with a Georgia lawyer, or paste it into a chatbot along with “I live in Georgia” and treat what comes back as a list of questions, not answers.
• Three contracts you could sign instead.
• A worksheet for reading it together, and every state’s Luck of the Draw score.
• Corrections, including changes in the law since the book went to press.
• About the book.