A service member who has lived on a Georgia military post for a year can file for divorce here even without six months of Georgia residence.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 19-5-2 provides that “any person who has been a resident of any United States army post or military reservation within this state for one year next preceding the filing of the petition may bring an action for divorce in any county adjacent to the United States army post or military reservation.”
Notice what the exception trades. You give up the shorter six month period and take on a full year, and in exchange you are not required to establish a Georgia domicile off post.
The Post Has to Be in Georgia
The exception is narrow, and Midkiff v. Midkiff, 275 Ga. 136 (2002), shows how narrow. The husband was stationed in Germany and had filed for divorce in Spalding County, where his parents had moved. He had changed his military “home of record” to that county but had never lived in it or even visited it during the marriage, and he had never filed a Georgia tax return or registered to vote here.
The Georgia Supreme Court held that the exception “does not include members of the military, such as Husband, who have not been stationed in a United States military facility located in this state.” The final divorce decree was set aside.
An Administrative Designation Is Not Residence
Midkiff also disposed of the home of record argument directly. The husband “did not establish actual, physical residence in this state merely by effectuating an administrative change of his designated home state on his military records.”
If you are stationed at a Georgia installation, this exception may be the cleanest route to filing here.
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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!