A fraudulent transfer can be undone in a Georgia divorce case, but a money judgment against the person who received the property generally requires a separate lawsuit.
What the Statute Allows
Under OCGA 18-2-77(a), a creditor may obtain “[a]voidance of the transfer or obligation to the extent necessary to satisfy the creditor’s claim,” an attachment, an injunction, a receiver, or “[a]ny other relief the circumstances may require.” Under OCGA 18-2-78(b)(1), the creditor may also “recover judgment for the value of the asset transferred … or the amount necessary to satisfy the creditor’s claim, whichever is less,” against the first person who received it or the person it was meant to benefit. A transfer made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor cannot be undone against someone who took it “in good faith and for a reasonably equivalent value,” OCGA 18-2-78(a).
Not Inside the Divorce Case
In Sampson v. Cureton, 343 Ga. App. 466 (2017), a husband claimed his wife had sold his 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air to Sampson, who was added to the divorce. The court ruled the car was the husband’s, voided the sale, and ordered it returned. When the car could not be recovered, the court entered a $44,550 judgment for its value and held Sampson in contempt until he paid that sum plus $6,746.25 in attorney fees. The Court of Appeals held that both orders had to be set aside, applying Shah v. Shah, 270 Ga. 649 (1999), which said “a money judgment against him can never be entered in the divorce proceeding.”
The rule is not absolute. In Huling v. Huling, 289 Ga. 55 (2011), a divorce judgment against a husband’s father and sister stood because they had “induced and expressly acquiesced in” it.
Claims Against Your Spouse
Joining a claim against your spouse is a different matter. Shah noted that OCGA 9-11-18(a) “specifically authorizes the assertion of additional existing claims against the original party-defendant.”
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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!