Property Division in a Georgia Divorce: Equitable Division of Marital Property

Georgia divides property by equitable division. Unlike most states, Georgia has no detailed statute listing what is marital property or what factors the court weighs. The rules come mainly from decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The basic principle is the same as elsewhere: marital property is divided fairly, which isn't necessarily equally, and separate property stays with its owner.

Most divorcing couples divide their property in a settlement agreement instead, and the court usually adopts it in the final decree.

Step one: classify every asset

Before anything is divided, the court has to decide whether each asset is marital or separate. In Flesch v. Flesch, 301 Ga. 779 (2017), the Supreme Court of Georgia explained that this matters because "only marital property is subject to division," and it described marital property this way:

Marital property includes real property, personal property, and assets acquired as a direct result of the labor and investment of the parties during the marriage.

Whether a particular item is marital or separate is a question of fact for the judge or jury.

What is separate property

Property one spouse brought into the marriage stays separate. In Christian v. Christian, 300 Ga. 263 (2016), the court repeated that property brought to the marriage is a non-marital asset that is not subject to equitable division. Because marital property is what the spouses earn by their own labor and investment during the marriage, gifts and inheritances one spouse receives from someone else during the marriage are generally treated as separate property as well. Spouses can also agree in a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that property will stay separate.

Mixing and tracing

When marital money goes into a separate account or asset, part of it can become marital. Flesch involved exactly that: marital funds deposited into an account one spouse had before the marriage, which required the court to trace the money. If you want an inheritance or premarital savings to stay separate, keep it separate and keep records.

When does the marital period end?

Not at separation. Georgia's rule is that property can be acquired as marital property until the final decree. In Christian, the court explained that it uses the date of the final decree because that date is "certain rather than subject to manipulation by one of the parties." Even a signed separation agreement didn't end the marital period in that case, because the court hadn't approved it.

Dividing marital property

Once assets are classified, the marital property is divided equitably. Georgia has no statutory list of factors, so the judge (or jury) weighs the circumstances of the particular case. Courts can award specific assets to one spouse and order payments to balance the division.

A jury can divide property

Georgia is one of the few states where a divorce can be tried to a jury. A spouse can ask for a jury on issues such as the division of property and alimony; child custody is decided by the judge alone. Most cases are decided by a judge without a jury, and most settle. Some courts' official acknowledgment forms ask the spouse who signs to waive a trial by judge or jury on the case.

The house

A home bought during the marriage is generally marital property, whoever's name is on the deed. The court or the parties can award the house to one spouse with offsetting assets to the other, or have it sold. The divorce decree binds the spouses, not the mortgage lender; the agreement should say who refinances or pays the loan.

Retirement accounts and pensions

The part of a retirement account or pension earned during the marriage is marital property. To pay a share to the other spouse, most retirement plans require a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), a separate court order the plan reviews and must honor. Have it prepared with the divorce, not years later.

Debts

Debts taken on during the marriage are divided along with the assets. The order binds the spouses, not the creditors: if your former spouse doesn't pay a joint debt assigned to him or her, the creditor can still pursue you, and your remedy is to enforce the decree.

Agreements

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are tested in Georgia by three questions the Supreme Court set out in 1982 and applied to a postnuptial agreement in Murray v. Murray, 299 Ga. 703 (2016): was the agreement obtained through fraud, duress, mistake, misrepresentation or nondisclosure of material facts; is it unconscionable; and have circumstances changed since it was signed so as to make enforcing it unfair and unreasonable?

Pets

Georgia has no divorce statute on pets. They're divided as property. Since July 1, 2025, a family violence protective order can address the care, custody and protection of household pets.

Protecting property during the case

Some counties issue an automatic standing order when a divorce is filed. Fulton County's 2026 order, for example, bars both spouses from disposing of assets except in the ordinary course of business, cutting off utilities, and changing insurance or beneficiaries. Georgia has no statewide automatic order, so check your county; either spouse can also ask the court for a temporary order.

Where these sections live

• Flesch v. Flesch, 301 Ga. 779 (2017)
• Christian v. Christian, 300 Ga. 263 (2016)
• Murray v. Murray, 299 Ga. 703 (2016)
• Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2 — Domestic relations financial affidavit