Admitting your own adultery does not automatically cost you a Georgia divorce.
The Statute Says “May,” Not “Must”
OCGA 19-5-4(b) provides that “the respondent may plead in defense the conduct of the party bringing the action and the jury may, on examination of the whole case, refuse a divorce.”
That is permission, not a command. The trier of fact is authorized to refuse the divorce after weighing everything, and is equally free to grant it.
The Case
Williford v. Williford, 230 Ga. 543 (1973), applied that reading to the hardest version of the problem. A husband sued his wife for divorce, she opposed it, and on cross-examination he admitted that he had committed adultery. The trial judge granted him the divorce anyway.
She appealed, arguing that because of the admission he was not entitled to a divorce at all.
The Georgia Supreme Court disagreed: “We do not interpret this statute to mean that a jury must deny a divorce when the moving party for the divorce admits to having committed adultery. The jury may refuse a divorce in such circumstances, but in such circumstances the jury may, on examination of the whole case, grant a divorce.”
Blois v. Blois, 234 Ga. 475 (1975), repeated the point, observing that in Georgia “the complaining party has been granted a divorce even though he admits to having committed adultery.”
Where the Admission Does Hurt You
None of this makes the admission harmless. It is a ground your spouse can plead against you, and under OCGA 19-6-1(b) it can bar your own alimony where the adultery caused the separation.
What it does not do is decide the divorce. Your spouse still has to give the court a reason to refuse one, and OCGA 19-5-4(a)(3) supplies that reason only where both of you are guilty of like conduct.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!