Grounds For Divorce

A party filing a complaint for divorce in Georgia must allege or set forth a ground for divorce. There are thirteen (13) grounds for divorce in Georgia. They include:

1. Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity.  (Note: This ground for divorce may also be the basis for annulment of the marriage.)
2. Mental incapacity at the time of marriage.  (Note: This ground for divorce may also be the basis for annulment of the marriage.)
3. Impotency at the time of marriage. (Note: This ground for divorce may also be the basis for annulment of the marriage.)
4. Force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage. Duress, in this context, means coercion or forcing the will of another into the marriage. Menace refers to threatening the other indicating that if one does not do the required act then there will be a catastrophic event following the refusal. (Note: This ground for divorce may also be the basis for annulment of the marriage.)
5. Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband, at the time of the marriage, unknown by the husband. (Note: This ground for divorce may also be the basis for annulment of the marriage.)
6. Adultery in either of the parties after marriage.  Adultery here is defined as when one of the parties has sexual intercourse with a person other than his/her spouse. There will not always be direct evidence of adultery; therefore, often times, circumstantial evidence is used to prove this ground. An example of circumstantial evidence is if one spouse checks into a hotel room with another person that they are suspected to be having an affair with. The parties order room service of champagne, etc. On occasion, if the ground of adultery is asserted another ground of cruel treatment is asserted.
7. Willful and continued desertion by either of the parties for the term of one year.  In order for this ground to be valid, there must be:  willful absence, cessation of cohabitation (which can be a physical absence or a denial of conjugal relations), and the absence must be for a period of one year or more.
8. The conviction of either party for an offense involving moral turpitude and under which he/she is sentenced to imprisonment in a penal institution for a term of two (2) years or longer.  For this ground to be applicable, there must be a conviction and a sentence. It is noted that the proper jurisdiction if filing for divorce of a convict  is the county of the convict's residence, not the county of confinement.
9. Habitual intoxication. Here, for the ground to be applicable, there must be proof that the drunkenness is more than one occasion or just a few times. However, it is not required that the moving party establishes that the other party was always or constantly intoxicated.
10. Cruel treatment.  This ground consists of the willful infliction of pain which can be bodily or mental. The party asserting the ground must be in reasonable apprehension of danger to life, limb or health. It is important to remember that the cruel treatment does not have to be physical abuse, or bodily harm, but can also be mental or emotional abuse. Repeated insults and neglect that causes the suffering party to reasonably justify apprehension of danger to life, limb or health will suffice for this ground. Examples of such acts that have been accepted by the courts are: constant nagging; belittling comparisons to others; accusing the other party of having an affair (if these allegations are not true); falsely accusing the other party of being mentally ill; threatening to commit adultery. All conduct that may be deemed wrongful or inappropriate however will not suffice as cruel treatment. There must be an intention of the wrongdoer to wound the other party. For example, a person that is insane is not capable, here, of committing acts of cruel treatment while instance because the willful requirement is not present.
11. Incurable mental illness.  There are strict requirements for this ground to be applicable. The spouse must have been adjudicated mentally ill by a court of competent jurisdiction. The pertinent time frame is at least two years before the filing of the divorce action based on this ground. The diagnosis of mental illness must include that it is incurable. 
12. Habitual drug addiction.  As with habitual intoxication, there must be proof that the usage is not just a one-time situation but is habitual.
13. The marriage is irretrievably broken.  This ground is often referred to as the no-fault ground for divorce. Basically, the party is saying that there are marital differences that the parties cannot reconcile. One or both of the parties here are unable or refuse to reconcile and therefore a divorce is in order. It is important to note here that if the sole ground for the divorce is that the marriage is irretrievably broken a subsequent reconciliation, like having marital relations, of the parties terminates the basis of the divorce action and the Court must dismiss the case.

Georgia law provides that the presiding Judge (bench trial) or Jury (jury trial) can grant a divorce based on the first twelve (12) "fault" grounds listed above. A divorce may also be granted due to the marriage being irretrievably broken with no hope of reconciliation which is sometimes called a "no fault" divorce.