If your spouse is threatening to leave Georgia while your divorce is pending, a judge can issue a writ of ne exeat restraining that spouse from leaving the court’s jurisdiction.
What a Writ of Ne Exeat Is
Ne exeat is an old equitable remedy, codified at OCGA 23-3-20 through 23-3-25. The writ restrains a person from leaving the state, and in a divorce its purpose is to keep a spouse – and that spouse’s assets – within reach, so a claim for alimony or support is not defeated by the spouse simply leaving. The restrained spouse can lift it by posting a bond in an amount the judge sets.
It Is Enforced by Arrest
In Chlupacek v. Reed, 225 Ga. 512 (1969), a wife filed for divorce, alimony, and custody, alleging her husband would take roughly $17,000 of her money and the children to his native Austria. The court restrained him from leaving and ordered that he be arrested and held until he posted a $50,000 ne exeat bond. He flew to Austria anyway, returned to Georgia four months later, and was arrested on the writ.
The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the detention. The bond was not excessive given the wife’s claims and the evidence he would likely return to Austria, and he had never moved to reduce it. Service of the writ, the court held, is not required.
What the Bond Actually Promises
In Hicks v. Walton, 109 Ga. App. 883 (1964), the Court of Appeals held that “the condition in a ne exeat bond in an alimony proceeding is that the principal shall not absent himself from the jurisdiction of the court.” A petition to forfeit the bond that does not allege the spouse left is defective.
The writ is rarely used in Georgia today, but it remains available.
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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!