Adultery does not bar a spouse from a share of the marital property in Georgia, but the judge or jury dividing that property can weigh it.
Not a Bar, Unlike Alimony
OCGA 19-6-1(b) bars alimony to a spouse when a preponderance of the evidence shows that spouse’s adultery or desertion caused the separation, as our post on the adultery bar explains. Property is different. In Peters v. Peters, 248 Ga. 490 (1981), a husband won the divorce on the ground of his wife’s adultery, but the Georgia Supreme Court held that “an equitable property division is still permissible” and affirmed an order sending her claim to a jury.
One Factor Among Many
In Bloomfield v. Bloomfield, 282 Ga. 108 (2007), a husband argued the trial court had focused unduly on his extramarital affair and divided the marital assets to punish him. The Supreme Court held the trial court could consider his behavior, including adultery, “as one factor in its decision-making process,” and rejected the challenge.
Adultery goes to how marital property is divided, not to what counts as marital: classifying property “is not a discretionary function but is based on legal principles.” Thomas v. Thomas, 259 Ga. 73 (1989).
What That Looks Like
In Zekser v. Zekser, 293 Ga. 366 (2013), the trial court found that a wife’s law school education had drained the family’s finances and pulled her away from her family, and that she had been unfaithful, which she admitted. It made her alone responsible for about $130,000 in law school loans, and the Supreme Court affirmed.
Weighing adultery does not guarantee a lopsided result. In Waters v. Waters, 280 Ga. 477 (2006), a wife told her husband she had met someone else. The trial court considered evidence of her adultery and split the property largely by country, New Zealand to her and Georgia to him, and the Supreme Court affirmed a division it said appeared to achieve “a rough parity.”
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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!