Georgia’s live-in-lover law lets a court reduce or end periodic alimony when the former spouse receiving it lives with a new partner in a marriage-like relationship, but nothing changes until a court orders it.
What the Statute Says
Under OCGA 19-6-19(b), after a divorce awarding periodic alimony, “the voluntary cohabitation of such former spouse with a third party in a meretricious relationship shall also be grounds to modify” that alimony. The statute defines “cohabitation” as “dwelling together continuously and openly in a meretricious relationship with another person, regardless of the sex of the other person.” The statute was amended in 2005; earlier opinions quote the definition as it then read, “with a person of the opposite sex.”
Who Can File, and Against What
The paying former spouse files a petition to modify. It reaches only periodic alimony: in McLendon v. McLendon, 262 Ga. 657 (1993), a jury ended a former wife’s life estate in the marital home, and the Supreme Court reversed because a life estate is lump sum alimony. The two-year wait under OCGA 19-6-19(a) for financial-change petitions does not apply here. Sims v. Sims, 245 Ga. 680 (1980).
What the Court May Do
The court may reduce the alimony, end it, or leave it alone. In Berman v. Berman, 253 Ga. 298 (1984), a jury was told it had to reduce or terminate alimony once it found a meretricious relationship. That was error: the statute “does not mandate the termination of periodic alimony,” and “it does not mandate reduction” either.
Nothing Ends on Its Own
Unless the divorce agreement says otherwise, the paying spouse cannot simply stop. In Brown v. Brown, 269 Ga. 724 (1998), the Supreme Court said that “the obligated spouse is never authorized to terminate payments by claiming the former spouse is in a meretricious relationship without first seeking judicial relief.” Any change runs from the date of the court’s judgment, not from the day the cohabitation began. Hendrix v. Stone, 261 Ga. 874 (1992).
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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!