If your spouse files for divorce in the wrong county and you do not say so at the outset, you lose the objection.
The Deadline Is Your First Pleading
Under OCGA 9-11-12(h)(1), the defense of improper venue is waived “[i]f it is neither made by motion under this Code section nor included in a responsive pleading, as originally filed.” In Bonner v. Bonner, 272 Ga. 545 (2000), the Georgia Supreme Court restated the rule: “[a] defendant waives the defenses of improper venue and lack of jurisdiction of the person by failing to raise such defenses by motion or through responsive pleadings.”
General Settlement Language Is Not Enough
Bonner also decided what does not count. The husband had signed a separation agreement saying it was “the complete and final settlement of any and all rights either of them may have against the other,” and the trial court treated that as a waiver of venue. The Supreme Court reversed, because “nowhere in the document is there any mention of venue, only of the rights between the parties.”
Agreeing to Venue on Purpose
You can consent, but it has to be deliberate. In Williams v. Williams, 259 Ga. 788 (1990), a wife in Clayton County and a husband in Chatham County agreed to file their uncontested divorce in Clayton County to save money, and the husband waived venue by affidavit. The Supreme Court held the waiver effective. In Crutchfield v. Lawson, 294 Ga. 407 (2014), the parties consented to venue under oath in open court, and the transcript settled it.
Parris v. Douthit, 287 Ga. 119 (2010), draws the line. A court will not remove the constitutional protection “in the absence of the conduct specified in OCGA 9-11-12(h)(1) or a voluntary, clear and specific waiver either in writing or transcribed in a court of record.”
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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!