§ 19-5-15.Effect of divorce
Chapter 5. Divorce · Last amended 1988 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-5-15
Plain-English Summary
This section answers a timing question with real consequences. As a rule, a total divorce annuls a marriage “from the time of the rendition of the decree” — from the moment the court renders its judgment. Until then, the parties are still married, even while the case is pending.
The exception reaches back further. When the divorce is granted for a cause that made the marriage void originally, the divorce annuls the marriage from its inception. Several grounds in § 19-5-3 describe defects present at the time of marriage — such as marriage within the prohibited degrees of kinship, mental incapacity, or force, menace, duress or fraud in obtaining the marriage — and § 19-4-2 lets parties to a void marriage choose divorce instead of annulment. In those cases the divorce works much like an annulment, which under § 19-4-5 returns the parties to their original status before the marriage.
The second sentence protects children. A divorce does not render the children of the marriage born out of wedlock, with one exception that mirrors ground (5) of § 19-5-3: when the wife was pregnant by a man other than the husband at the time of the marriage, and the husband did not know it. The section was amended in 1988.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a Georgia divorce final?
Under this section, a total divorce annuls the marriage from the time the decree is rendered. Until the court renders the final judgment and decree, the parties remain married. The exception is a divorce granted for a cause that made the marriage void originally, which annuls the marriage from its inception.
Does a divorce make our children born out of wedlock in Georgia?
No. The section says the children of the marriage shall not be rendered born out of wedlock by a divorce. The one exception is when the wife was pregnant by a man other than the husband at the time of the marriage and the husband did not know it.
What does it mean that a divorce can annul a marriage from its inception?
It means the law treats the marriage as void from the beginning, not just ended on the decree date. That happens when the divorce is granted for a cause that made the marriage void originally — for example, some of the defects present at the time of marriage listed in § 19-5-3. Ordinary divorces end the marriage from the date of the decree.
Are we still married while our Georgia divorce is pending?
How is the effect of a divorce different from an annulment?
An ordinary divorce ends the marriage from the date of the decree. An annulment, available only for marriages declared void by law, has the effect of a total divorce and returns the parties to their status before the marriage (§ 19-4-5). A divorce granted for a cause that made the marriage void originally works similarly, annulling the marriage from its inception.
Amendment History
Laws 1806, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 225; Laws 1861, p. 62, § 1; Laws 1988, p. 1720, § 2.
Formerly Code 1863, § 1682; Code 1868, § 1725; Code 1873, § 1726; Code 1882, § 1726; Civil Code 1895, § 2444; Civil Code 1910, § 2963; Code 1933, § 30-119.