What is no fault divorce? Is Adultery grounds for divorce? My spouse is constantly using illegal drugs, is that a reason for divorce?
In Georgia there are 13 grounds for divorce. One ground is “irretrievably broken” (sometimes referred to as the “no-fault ground”). The other 12 grounds for divorce in Georgia are “fault” grounds.
WHAT IS a “no-fault” divorce?
To obtain a divorce on the basis of (irretrievably broken), one party must establish that he or she refuses to live with the other spouse and that there is no hope of reconciliation. It is not necessary to show that there was any fault or wrongdoing by either party.
What are the “fault” grounds?
To obtain a divorce on one of the 12 “fault” grounds, one must prove that there was some wrongdoing by one of the parties to the marriage.
o.c.g.a. 19-5-3: grounds for total divorce
The following grounds shall be sufficient to authorize the granting of total divorce:
(1) intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity;
(2) Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage;
(3) Impotency at the time of 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, unknown to the husband;
(6) Adultery in either of the parties after marriage;
(7) Willful and continued desertion by either of the parties for the term of one year;
(8) 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 two years or longer;
(9) Habitual intoxication the drunkenness must be habitual, but need not be constant and continuous, this ground does not include narcotics but only refers to alcoholic beverages;
(10) Cruel treatment which shall consist of the willful infliction of pain, bodily or mental, upon the complaining party, such as reasonably justifies apprehension of danger to life, limb or health
(11) Incurable mental illness No divorce shall be granted upon this ground unless the mentally ill party has been adjudged mentally ill by a court of competent jurisdiction or has been certified to be mentally ill by two physicians who have personally examined the party; and he/she has been confined in an institution for the mentally ill or has been under continuance treatment for mental illness for a period of at least two years immediately preceding the commencement of the action; and the superintendent or the other chief executive officer of the institution and one competent physician appointed by the court, after a thorough examination make a certified statement under oath that it is their opinion that the party evidences such a want of reason, memory, and intelligence as to prevent the party from comprehending the nature, duties, and consequences of the marriage relationship and that, in the light of present day medical knowledge, recovery of the party’s mental health cannot be expected at any time during his/her life. Notice of the action must be served upon the guardian of the person of the mentally ill person and upon the superintendent or other chief executive office of the institution in which the person is confined. In the event that there is no guardian of the person, then notice of the action shall be served upon the guardian ad litem, who shall be appointed by the court in which the person is confined. The guardian and superintendent shall be entitled to appear and be heard upon the issues. The status of the parties as to the support and maintenance of the mentally ill person shall not be altered in any way by the granting of the divorce;
(12) Habitual drug addiction, which shall consist of addiction to any controlled substance as defined in Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16;
As an example, one fault ground listed above is adultery. Adultery in Georgia includes heterosexual and homosexual relations between one spouse and another individual.
Another “fault” ground for divorce in Georgia is desertion. A divorce may be granted on the grounds that a person has deserted his or her spouse willfully for at least a year. Other “fault” grounds include mental or physical cruel treatment, marriage between persons who are too closely related, mental incapacity at the time of marriage, impotency at the time of marriage, force or fraud in obtaining the marriage, pregnancy of the wife unknown to the husband at the time of the marriage, conviction and imprisonment for certain crimes, habitual intoxication or drug addiction, and mental illness.