Each state in the United States has specific requirements that are considered legitimate grounds for divorce. There are many people who no longer wish to be married to their spouse. However, in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of the state, they may not necessarily have grounds that will hold up in court.
What are considered grounds for divorce?
In Georgia, the following are considered legitimate grounds for divorce:
- Intermarriage between two people who are related by blood
- Mental incapacity of either of the spouses who wish to dissolve the marriage
- Impotence during the course of the marriage
- If either of the spouses forced the other to marry under duress, or if either of the spouses used fraud to convince the other person to marry
- If the wife was pregnant by another man other than the husband when the marriage occurred and the husband was unaware of who the father of the baby was
- If either spouse was unfaithful
- If either spouse abandoned the other during the marriage
- If either spouse behaved in a manner that was immoral and was incarcerated as a result for at least two years
- Ongoing drunkenness
- If either spouse was cruel to the other, including inflicting physical harm or mental abuse
- Terminal illness
- Drug abuse
- The marriage is broken and cannot be fixed
This last reason is the most common. If both spouses agree on this ground, the divorce is considered uncontested. However, if the spouses use this as the ground for divorce, they are legally obligated to wait at least 30 days before the divorce will be granted
Contacting a family law attorney may make a tremendous difference
If you have decided to divorce and are in the middle of deciding how to proceed, an experienced Macon, Georgia, family law attorney may make a tremendous difference to your case. The attorney can give you valuable advice on how to proceed. The decisions that you make for you and for your children can really drive how your lives turn out now and for many years into the future.
It is essential for you to keep your rights and those of your children at the top of your priority list. Your attorney can make sure that those rights are always protected and can come up with a strategy that encompasses your best interests and those of your children so that you can look forward to a bright and happy future.