SB 309 - Divorce - grounds, child cus- tody, support, property division

First Reader Summary

A bill to amend Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to domestic relations, so as to change the grounds for the granting of a total divorce; to provide for the basis upon which child custody, child support, and the division of property shall be awarded.

Page Numbers - 1/ 2/ 3

Code Sections - 19-5-3/ 19-6-1.1

SB 309 97                                           LC 9 9198 
 
      SENATE BILL 309 
 
      By:  Senators Gochenour of the 27th, Johnson of the 
           1st and Dean of the 31st 
 
                        A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 
                               AN ACT 
 
 
  1- 1  To amend Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, 
  1- 2  relating to domestic relations, so as to change the grounds 
  1- 3  for the granting of a total divorce; to provide for the 
  1- 4  basis upon which child custody, child support, and the 
  1- 5  division of property shall be  awarded; to provide an 
  1- 6  effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other 
  1- 7  purposes. 
 
  1- 8       BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 
 
  1- 9                           SECTION 1. 
 
  1-10  Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating 
  1-11  to domestic relations, is amended by striking Code Section 
  1-12  19-5-3, relating to grounds for a total divorce, and 
  1-13  inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 19-5-3 to read 
  1-14  as follows: 
 
  1-15    "19-5-3. 
 
  1-16    The following grounds shall be sufficient to authorize the 
  1-17    granting of a total divorce: 
 
  1-18      (1) Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited 
  1-19      degrees of consanguinity or affinity; 
 
  1-20      (2) Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage; 
 
  1-21      (3) Impotency at the time of the marriage; 
 
  1-22      (4) Force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the 
  1-23      marriage; 
 
  1-24      (5) Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the 
  1-25      husband, at the time of the marriage, unknown to the 
  1-26      husband; 
 
  1-27      (6) Adultery in either of the parties after marriage if 
  1-28      counseling for a period of not less than six months 
  1-29      fails to repair the marriage; 
 
  1-30      (7) Willful and continued desertion by either of the 
  1-31      parties for the term of one year; 
 
 
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  2- 1      (8) The conviction of either party for an offense 
  2- 2      involving moral turpitude, under which he or she is 
  2- 3      sentenced to imprisonment in a penal institution for a 
  2- 4      term of two years or longer; 
 
  2- 5      (9) Habitual intoxication; 
 
  2- 6      (10) Cruel treatment, which shall consist of the willful 
  2- 7      infliction of pain, bodily or mental, upon the 
  2- 8      complaining party, such as reasonably justifies 
  2- 9      apprehension of danger to life, limb, or health; 
 
  2-10      (11) Incurable mental illness. No divorce shall be 
  2-11      granted upon this ground unless the mentally ill party 
  2-12      has been adjudged mentally ill by a court of competent 
  2-13      jurisdiction or has been certified to be mentally ill by 
  2-14      two physicians who have personally examined the party; 
  2-15      and he or she has been confined in an institution for 
  2-16      the mentally ill or has been under continuous treatment 
  2-17      for mental illness for a period of at least two years 
  2-18      immediately preceding the commencement of the action; 
  2-19      and the superintendent or other chief executive officer 
  2-20      of the institution and one competent physician appointed 
  2-21      by the court, after a thorough examination, make a 
  2-22      certified statement under oath that it is their opinion 
  2-23      that the party evidences such a want of reason, memory, 
  2-24      and intelligence as to prevent the party from 
  2-25      comprehending the nature, duties, and consequences of 
  2-26      the marriage relationship and that, in the light of 
  2-27      present day medical knowledge, recovery of the party's 
  2-28      mental health cannot be expected at any time during his 
  2-29      or her life. Notice of the action must be served upon 
  2-30      the guardian of the person of the mentally ill person 
  2-31      and upon the superintendent or other chief executive 
  2-32      officer of the institution in which the person is 
  2-33      confined. In the event that there is no guardian of the 
  2-34      person, then notice of the action shall be served upon a 
  2-35      guardian ad litem, who shall be appointed by the court 
  2-36      in which the divorce action is filed, and upon the 
  2-37      superintendent or chief executive officer of the 
  2-38      institution in which the person is confined. The 
  2-39      guardian and superintendent shall be entitled to appear 
  2-40      and be heard upon the issues. The status of the parties 
  2-41      as to the support and maintenance of the mentally ill 
  2-42      person shall not be altered in any way by the granting 
  2-43      of the divorce; 
 
 
 
 
                                 -2- 
 
 
 
  3- 1      (12) Habitual drug addiction, which shall consist of 
  3- 2      addiction to any controlled substance as defined in 
  3- 3      Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16; or 
 
  3- 4      (13) The marriage is irretrievably broken and both 
  3- 5      parties consent to the divorce and agree that the 
  3- 6      marriage is irretrievably broken. Under no circumstances 
  3- 7      shall the court grant a divorce on this ground until not 
  3- 8      less than 30 days from the date of service on the 
  3- 9      respondent." 
 
  3-10                           SECTION 2. 
 
  3-11  Said title is further amended by adding, following Code 
  3-12  Section 19-6-1, a new Code Section 19-6-1.1 to read as 
  3-13  follows: 
 
  3-14    "19-6-1.1. 
 
  3-15    Notwithstanding any other provision of this title to the 
  3-16    contrary, on and after the effective date of this Code 
  3-17    section each award of child custody, child support, 
  3-18    alimony, or division of property shall be made on the 
  3-19    basis of a 'children first rule,' meaning that the best 
  3-20    interest of the minor children of a marriage shall be the 
  3-21    primary consideration in any such award." 
 
  3-22                           SECTION 3. 
 
  3-23  Notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 1-3-4.1, this 
  3-24  Act shall become effective on the first day of July 
  3-25  following the approval of this Act by the Governor or its 
  3-26  becoming law without such approval. 
 
  3-27                           SECTION 4. 
 
  3-28  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are 
  3-29  repealed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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