§ 19-3-5.What marriages void; legitimacy of issue; effect of later ratification
Chapter 3. Marriage Generally · Article 1. General Provisions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-3-5
Plain-English Summary
This section says what happens when a marriage fails one of the essentials in Code Section 19-3-1. Under subsection (a), three kinds of marriages are void: those of persons unable to contract, persons unwilling to contract, and persons fraudulently induced to contract. Capacity is defined in Code Section 19-3-2, and consent in Code Section 19-3-4.
Subsection (a) also protects children. Children of a void marriage who are born before a competent court annuls the marriage and declares it void are legitimate.
Subsection (b) offers two paths to cure. First, where a person was unwilling to contract or was fraudulently induced, a later consent and ratification of the marriage, made freely and voluntarily and accompanied by cohabitation as spouses, makes the marriage valid. Second, where the marriage was void on one of the grounds in paragraphs (1) through (3) of Code Section 19-3-2 — unsound mind, age, or a living spouse from an undissolved marriage — the same kind of free ratification with cohabitation, made after the impediment is removed, makes it valid. So a couple who married while one was still married to someone else can cure the defect only after the earlier marriage ends and they then freely ratify and live together as spouses.
The cure doesn’t reach the prohibited degrees of Code Section 19-3-3, which are in paragraph (4) of Code Section 19-3-2. Annulments are covered in Chapter 4; Code Section 19-4-1 lets the superior court grant them, except where children are born or are to be born of the marriage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a marriage void in Georgia?
A marriage is void if either person was unable to contract, unwilling to contract, or fraudulently induced to contract. Inability covers the capacity rules in Code Section 19-3-2: unsound mind, underage, an undissolved prior marriage, or a prohibited family relationship. Unwillingness and fraud relate to the consent rule in Code Section 19-3-4.
Are children of an annulled marriage legitimate in Georgia?
Yes, if they were born before the marriage was annulled. The section says the issue of a void marriage born before a competent court annuls the marriage and declares it void shall be legitimate. Code Section 19-3-2 adds that its prior-marriage rule doesn’t affect children’s legitimacy.
My spouse was still married when we wed. Can we fix it?
Yes, in some cases. A marriage void because one party had a living spouse from an undissolved marriage becomes valid if, after the impediment is removed — after the earlier marriage ends — both parties freely and voluntarily consent to and ratify the marriage, accompanied by cohabitation as spouses. Marrying again with a new license, once both are free to marry, is generally another route.
Can a void marriage become valid just by living together?
Not by living together alone. The cure requires a later consent and ratification, freely and voluntarily made, accompanied by cohabitation as spouses. For marriages void for unsound mind, age, or a prior undissolved marriage, that ratification must come after the impediment is removed. Cohabitation is one part of the cure, not all of it.
Do I need to go to court to end a void marriage?
This section doesn’t say; it declares such marriages void, and Chapter 4 supplies the court route. Under Code Section 19-4-1, the superior court may annul marriages declared void by law, except where children are born or are to be born as a result of the marriage. Code Section 19-4-2 lets parties to a void marriage file either for annulment or, if grounds exist, for divorce.
Amendment History
Formerly Code 1863, § 1657; Code 1868, § 1701; Code 1873, § 1702; Code 1882, § 1702; Civil Code 1895, § 2416; Civil Code 1910, § 2935; Code 1933, § 53-104.