Missing the deadline to answer a Georgia divorce complaint does not hand your spouse an automatic win.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 19-5-8 applies the ordinary rules of civil pleading and practice to divorce, alimony, and custody actions with one exception: “No verdict or judgment by default shall be taken in any such case.”
You Can Still Show Up and Contest
Failing to plead does not put you out of the case. In Rymuza v. Rymuza, 292 Ga. 98 (2012), a wife who had been served by publication argued that the trial court had entered a default judgment against her. The Georgia Supreme Court restated the rule by quoting Hinson v. Hinson, 218 Ga. 447 (1962): “even without pleading [Wife] had the right to appear and contest at the trial.” On the record before it the court found there had been no default judgment, because a final hearing was held at which both parties appeared and testified.
The Prohibition Has No Exceptions
Harold v. Harold, 286 Ga. 175 (2009), is the clearest illustration. A wife did not comply with a discovery order, and the trial court struck her pleadings and entered what it called a default judgment for the husband. The Georgia Supreme Court held that judgment unauthorized: “while a trial court cannot, under any circumstances, grant a default judgment in a divorce case, it can grant sanctions for discovery abuse, including the striking of pleadings.”
So the no-default rule is not permission to ignore the case. It protects you from losing by silence, not from losing.
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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!