Grounds for Divorce

Grounds for Divorce in Georgia

Grounds for Divorce in Georgia

There are numerous grounds for divorce in the State of Georgia. Spouses are not required to show justification for filing a divorce. A simple statement by one party that the marriage is irretrievably broken is all that is necessary to authorize a court to grant a complete divorce. This is commonly known as a “no fault” divorce. Other grounds can be requested by either party and include;

  1. Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity;
  2. Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage;
  3. Impotency at the time of the marriage;
  4. Force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage;
  5. Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband, at the time of the marriage and unknown by the husband;
  6. Adultery in either of the parties after the marriage;
  7. Willful and continued desertion by either of the parties for a period of one year;
  8. The conviction of either party for an offense involving moral turpitude and under which he or she is sentenced to imprisonment in a penal institution for a term of two years or longer;
  9. Habitual intoxication;
  10. Cruel treatment;
  11. Incurable mental illness;
  12. Habitual drug addiction;
  13. The marriage is irretrievably broken

Often a party may have one or more fault-based grounds for divorce but not allege it in the Complaint or Counterclaim. Your attorney will discuss how best to plead the grounds for your specific case.