One witness is generally enough to prove a fact in a Georgia divorce, and that witness can be you.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 24-14-8, quoted in full by the Georgia Supreme Court in Palencia v. State, 313 Ga. 625 (2022), provides: “The testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact. However, in certain cases, including prosecutions for treason, prosecutions for perjury, and felony cases where the only witness is an accomplice, the testimony of a single witness shall not be sufficient.”
Every exception in that list is criminal. In a divorce, the general rule is the one that applies. Georgia does have a separate corroboration rule for a party’s own confession to adultery or cruel treatment, at OCGA 19-5-11.
How It Works in Practice
In Blue v. Hemmans, 327 Ga. App. 353 (2014), a mother testified that the father had blocked her telephone numbers for over a year, leaving her unable to reach her son for months at a time. Nobody backed her up. The Court of Appeals held her “testimony was sufficient to support the trial court’s factual finding regarding telephone contact.”
Likewise, in Taylor v. Taylor, 293 Ga. 615 (2013), a father testified that he paid a nanny $1,500 each month. The Georgia Supreme Court held that this “is sufficient to sustain the finding of the trial court that [the father] actually incurs such costs.”
Sufficient Is Not the Same as Believed
Being legally sufficient only means a judge is allowed to accept your testimony. Whether the judge does is a credibility question, and the same rule works just as well for your spouse. So documents still matter, because they make one witness far harder to disbelieve.
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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!