§ 19-1-1.Injunctions and restraining orders authorized in domestic relations actions

Chapter 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1994 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-1-1 lets a Georgia court issue a standing order the moment a domestic relations case is filed, barring both sides from taking the children out of the court’s jurisdiction or selling off or moving the parties’ property without court permission, and from harassing each other or the children.

Full Text of § 19-1-1

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c)

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “domestic relations action” shall include any action for divorce, alimony, equitable division of assets and liabilities, child custody, child support, legitimation, annulment, determination of paternity, termination of parental rights in connection with an adoption proceeding filed in a superior court, any contempt proceeding relating to enforcement of a decree or order, a petition in respect to modification of a decree or order, an action on a foreign judgment based on alimony or child support, and adoption. The term “domestic relations action” shall also include any direct or collateral attack on a judgment or order entered in any such action.

(b) Upon the filing of any domestic relations action, the court may issue a standing order in such action which:

(1) Upon notice, binds the parties in such action, their agents, servants, and employees, and all other persons acting in concert with such parties;

(2) Enjoins and restrains the parties from unilaterally causing or permitting the minor child or children of the parties to be removed from the jurisdiction of the court without the permission of the court, except in an emergency which has been created by the other party to the action;

(3) Enjoins and restrains each party from doing or attempting to do or threatening to do any act which injures, maltreats, vilifies, molests, or harasses or which may, upon judicial determination, constitute threats, harassment, or stalking the adverse party or the child or children of the parties or any act which constitutes a violation of other civil or criminal laws of this state; and

(4) Enjoins and restrains each party from selling, encumbering, trading, contracting to sell, or otherwise disposing of or removing from the jurisdiction of the court, without the permission of the court, any of the property belonging to the parties except in the ordinary course of business or except in an emergency which has been created by the other party to the action.

(c) Upon written motion of a party, the standing order provided for in this Code section shall be reviewed by the court at any rule nisi hearing.

End

Plain-English Summary

Divorce and custody cases take time, and the weeks after filing can be tense. This section gives the court a tool for that stretch: a standing order that freezes the status quo from the start. The court may issue one “upon the filing” of any domestic relations action. The word is “may,” so whether a standing order issues is up to the court.

Subsection (a) defines “domestic relations action” broadly. It covers divorce, alimony, equitable division of assets and liabilities, child custody, child support, legitimation, annulment, paternity, adoption, termination of parental rights in connection with an adoption filed in a superior court, contempt proceedings to enforce a decree or order, petitions to modify a decree or order, and actions on a foreign judgment based on alimony or child support. It also reaches any direct or collateral attack on a judgment or order entered in one of those cases.

Subsection (b) describes what the order may do. Once a party has notice, it binds the parties, their agents, servants and employees, and anyone acting in concert with them. It may bar either party from unilaterally causing or permitting the children to be removed from the court’s jurisdiction without court permission, unless the other party created an emergency. It may forbid each party from injuring, maltreating, vilifying, molesting or harassing the other party or the children, from conduct a court could find to be threats, harassment or stalking, and from any act that breaks other civil or criminal laws of Georgia. And it may forbid each party from selling, encumbering, trading, contracting to sell, disposing of or removing the parties’ property from the court’s jurisdiction without permission, except in the ordinary course of business or in an emergency the other party created.

Subsection (c) gives each side a way to revisit the order. On a party’s written motion, the court shall review the standing order at any rule nisi hearing — a hearing the court sets by order for the parties to appear. A standing order is not a family violence protective order; those are granted on a separate verified petition under § 19-13-4.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a standing order in a Georgia divorce?

It’s an order a court may issue when a domestic relations case is filed that keeps things stable while the case is pending. Under this section it may bar each party from taking the children out of the court’s jurisdiction without permission, from harassing or threatening the other party or the children, and from selling, encumbering or moving the parties’ property without court permission. It binds the parties once they have notice of it.

Can I move away with my kids after my spouse files for divorce in Georgia?

Not out of the court’s jurisdiction without the court’s permission, if a standing order under this section is in place. The order may forbid either party from unilaterally causing or permitting the children to be removed from the court’s jurisdiction without court permission. The one exception in the text is an emergency created by the other party to the action. If you need to relocate, the usual path is to ask the court first.

Can I sell our house or car while the divorce is pending?

Not if a standing order covers it, unless the court gives permission. The order may stop each party from selling, encumbering, trading, contracting to sell, or otherwise disposing of the parties’ property, or removing it from the court’s jurisdiction. There are two exceptions: transactions in the ordinary course of business, and an emergency created by the other party.

Does a standing order apply to people other than my spouse and me?

Yes, once they have notice of it. The section says the order binds the parties, their agents, servants and employees, and all other persons acting in concert with the parties. So a relative or friend who helps one side hide property or take the children out of the court’s jurisdiction, knowing about the order, can be bound by it too.

How do I challenge or change a standing order in my Georgia case?

File a written motion asking the court to review it. Under subsection (c), when a party makes a written motion, the court shall review the standing order at any rule nisi hearing. That hearing is your chance to explain why the order should be changed — for example, to permit a needed sale of property or travel with the children. Whether the court changes the order is up to the judge.

Amendment History

Laws 1994, p. 1161, § 1.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

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