When separated spouses reconcile and move back in together, Georgia treats the marriage as if the separation had never happened.
What Reconciling Does
Powell v. Powell, 196 Ga. 694 (1943), states the rule. “There can be no doubt that when an estranged husband and wife reconcile their differences and voluntarily resume cohabitation as husband and wife, they have by such acts restored their original marital status as fully as if the separation had not occurred, and with it they assume all the duties, obligations, and liabilities imposed by law incidental to the relation.”
So the duty to support your spouse comes back, and it comes back in its ordinary form – voluntarily, not by court order. In Powell itself, a husband had paid his wife $7,000 in exchange for a written release of every claim she had against him. They lived apart for a year, she came home, and they lived together for fourteen months more. When he sued for divorce, the release did not stop her from asking for alimony and attorney’s fees.
No Court Order Is Needed
You do not go back to court to make this happen. In Brown v. Brown, 210 Ga. 233 (1953), a wife held a 1944 decree awarding her permanent alimony. The parties reconciled and lived together intermittently for nine years. When they separated again and she filed for divorce, the trial judge ruled her old decree was still binding and refused her temporary alimony.
The Georgia Supreme Court reversed. Resuming cohabitation “ipso facto annuls, sets aside, and renders void the previous decree for alimony for the wife, and no judgment of a court to that effect is necessary.”
Practically, that cuts both ways. You are not stuck with the old terms, and neither is your spouse.
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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!