Your spouse admitting the affair helps, but in Georgia an admission by itself does not automatically win the divorce.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 19-5-11 provides that “[t]he confessions of a party to acts of adultery or cruel treatment shall be received with great caution; if unsupported by corroborating circumstances and if made with a view to be evidence in the case, such confessions shall not be deemed sufficient to grant a divorce.”
Both conditions have to be present before the confession falls short – it must be uncorroborated, and it must have been made in order to serve as evidence in the case. A candid admission made long before anyone filed, and backed up by other circumstances, is not what the statute is aimed at.
The Confession Is Still Admissible
The statute governs how much weight a confession carries, not whether it comes in. In Cocroft v. Cocroft, 158 Ga. 714 (1924), a divorce action brought solely on the ground of adultery, the Georgia Supreme Court held that “admissions and confessions of the parties are not altogether outlawed” and that it was error to exclude witness testimony about the accused spouse’s admissions.
The Court Still Has to Be Satisfied
There is also no such thing as winning a Georgia divorce by default. Under OCGA 19-5-8, “[n]o verdict or judgment by default shall be taken in any such case but the allegations of the pleadings shall be established to the satisfaction of the court by the verified pleadings, by affidavit, by evidentiary hearing, or otherwise.” So the judge decides whether the admission, taken with everything else, actually proves the ground.
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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!