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Dating during or after a Georgia divorce: alimony, adultery and living together
Summary
In Georgia, a relationship can matter for alimony both before and after a divorce. A spouse whose adultery or desertion caused the separation can't receive alimony.1
After the divorce, permanent alimony usually ends if the spouse receiving it remarries, unless the decree or agreement says otherwise. Living openly with a new partner can also be grounds to change alimony.2, 3
Custody is decided on the child's best interests.4
Adultery as a ground for divorce
Most Georgia divorces use the no-fault ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken, but adultery is one of the 13 grounds the law lists.5
Alimony and the cause of the separation
A spouse can't receive alimony if the court finds that their adultery or desertion caused the separation. In other cases, the judge must consider how each spouse treated the other when deciding whether to award alimony.1
The question is what caused the separation, so when a relationship began, compared with when the marriage broke down, can matter.
Property division
Conduct during the marriage and in causing the divorce can be considered in dividing property, even in a no-fault divorce.6
Children
Custody and parenting time are decided on the child's best interests, using the factors in Georgia law.4
After the divorce: remarriage
Unless the decree or agreement says otherwise, permanent alimony ends if the spouse receiving it remarries.2
After the divorce: living with a partner
The spouse paying alimony can ask the court to change it if the former spouse is voluntarily living with someone in what the law calls a meretricious relationship. The law defines that as living together continuously and openly, regardless of the other person's sex.3
In Provenzano v. Jones, a former wife moved in with her boyfriend a few months after the divorce, then moved out about a year later. Her former husband asked to reduce alimony, and the court cut it from $3,000 to $2,000 a month. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld that: the living arrangement didn't have to still be going on when he filed, and she had admitted the relationship and shared a household and expenses.
Questions you might ask a lawyer
- Could a relationship during the marriage affect alimony or property in our case?
- Does our agreement say what happens to alimony if either of us remarries or lives with someone?
- What evidence would a court look at for a living-together claim?
- Could a new relationship come up in our custody case?
Common questions
Does alimony stop if my ex moves in with someone in Georgia?
Not automatically, but it can be grounds to ask the court to change it. In Provenzano v. Jones, alimony was reduced after the former wife lived with her boyfriend.3
Does alimony end if my ex remarries in Georgia?
Permanent alimony usually ends at remarriage, unless the decree or agreement says otherwise.2
Sources
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1, alimony and the cause of the separation (Justia)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 19-6-5, factors and effect of remarriage (Justia)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 19-6-19, changing alimony, including cohabitation (Justia)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3, custody and the child's best interests (Justia)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 19-5-3, grounds for divorce (Justia)
- ^ Wood v. Wood (Ga. 2008), conduct and property division (Justia)
- ^ Provenzano v. Jones (Ga. 2017), alimony reduced after the former wife lived with a partner (Justia)
Laws and court rules change. If something here looks out of date, email help@divorce.city.