No. If there are children of the marriage, or a child on the way, Georgia will not annul it.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 19-4-1 states the bar in the same sentence that creates the remedy: “Annulments of marriages declared void by law may be granted by the superior court, except that annulments may not be granted in instances where children are born or are to be born as a result of the marriage.”
The bar is not limited to any particular reason the marriage was void. A pregnancy alone is enough to close the door.
Why the Bar Exists
The reason is the children’s legitimacy. Under OCGA 19-3-5(a), the issue of a void marriage “born before the marriage is annulled and declared void by a competent court shall be legitimate.” Annulling the marriage would take that away.
In Wallace v. Wallace, 221 Ga. 510 (1965), a husband who was 17 when he married argued that the marriage was void and that his wife could not recover alimony. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the legislature meant “to protect the children of marriages previously considered void … by prohibiting annulment and thus guaranteeing their legitimacy.”
Divorce Is the Remedy Instead
Riddle v. Riddle, 240 Ga. 515 (1978), applied the same rule where the husband had a prior undissolved marriage. Divorce was “the only authorized judicial means for dissolving this admittedly void marriage,” and child support could be awarded in it.
There is a limit. In Wright v. Hall, 292 Ga. 457 (2013), the court held that a void marriage is valid “for purposes of protecting the children of the marriage, but not for the purpose of protecting spousal interests unrelated to the child’s interests.”
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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!