If the divorce that supposedly freed your spouse to marry you was obtained by lying to another state’s court about living there, you can challenge it in your own Georgia case. You do not have to go back to that state.
The Rule
Cole v. Cole, 221 Ga. 171 (1965), states it. A divorce decree obtained in another state “in consequence of false representations by the parties as to their residence in such State is a nullity and may be collaterally attacked in any court of this State by a person not a party thereto who is materially and adversely affected by such decree.”
What Happened in Cole
A wife sued her husband in Troup County for divorce and alimony. She had been married before, and she and that first husband had gotten an Alabama decree in 1957, granted the same day the suit was filed there. At the temporary hearing she testified that neither she nor her former husband had ever lived in Alabama.
Her husband moved to dismiss on the spot. The trial court granted it and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed.
Full Faith and Credit Does Not Rescue It
Georgia normally has to honor another state’s judgments. But as Cole explains, where the evidence of the person relying on the foreign decree “conclusively shows that such decree is a nullity, the courts of this State are not required to give it full faith and credit.”
Even If You Helped Get It
Christopher v. Christopher, 198 Ga. 361 (1944), involved a Mexican divorce a wife had obtained from her first husband. Her second husband had encouraged and collaborated in getting it. The Georgia Supreme Court held that did not stop him from attacking it, because “[t]he public policy of this State can not be circumvented by any action or agreement of individuals.”
So a spouse who was in on it is not shut out of raising it later.
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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!