§ 19-5-4.Effect of collusion, consent, guilt of like conduct, or condonation

Chapter 5. Divorce · Last amended 1851 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-5-4 lists four situations in which a Georgia court shall not grant a divorce — collusion, consent, both spouses guilty of like conduct, and knowing forgiveness followed by cohabitation — and lets the respondent raise the filer’s conduct as a defense.

Full Text of § 19-5-4

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) No divorce shall be granted under the following circumstances:

(1) The adultery, desertion, cruel treatment, or intoxication complained of was occasioned by the collusion of the parties, with the intention of causing a divorce;

(2) The party complaining of the adultery, desertion, cruel treatment, or intoxication of the other party was consenting thereto;

(3) Both parties are guilty of like conduct; or

(4) There has been a voluntary condonation and cohabitation subsequent to the acts complained of, with notice thereof.

(b) In all such cases, the respondent may plead in defense the conduct of the party bringing the action and the jury may, on examination of the whole case, refuse a divorce.

End

Plain-English Summary

This section traces to an 1850 law. Subsection (a) says no divorce shall be granted in four situations. Collusion: the adultery, desertion, cruel treatment or intoxication complained of was arranged by the spouses together, with the intention of causing a divorce. Consent: the spouse complaining of that conduct consented to it. Like conduct: both spouses are guilty of the same kind of conduct. Condonation: after the acts complained of, the complaining spouse voluntarily forgave them and the couple lived together afterward, with notice of the acts — that is, knowing about them.

Condonation has three parts, and all must be present: forgiveness that is voluntary, cohabitation after the acts, and knowledge of what was forgiven. Forgiving conduct one did not know about does not meet this bar.

Subsection (b) gives the respondent a matching tool. In all such cases, the respondent may plead the petitioner’s own conduct in defense, and the jury may, on examination of the whole case, refuse a divorce. Subsection (a) is stated in mandatory terms — no divorce “shall be granted” — while subsection (b) says the jury “may” refuse a divorce after weighing the whole case; the section does not explain further how the two fit together. The text frames these bars around misconduct and does not mention the no-fault ground in § 19-5-3(13). A respondent who wants a divorce in their own favor, not merely a defense, can ask for one in the answer under § 19-5-6, and § 19-5-11 adds a related caution about confessions of adultery or cruel treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I forgave my spouse’s affair, can I still divorce on adultery grounds in Georgia?

Possibly not on that ground. Subsection (a)(4) bars a divorce where there has been voluntary condonation and cohabitation after the acts complained of, with notice of them. All three must be present: you knew of the affair, forgave it voluntarily, and lived together afterward. This section does not address the no-fault ground in § 19-5-3(13).

What is condonation in a Georgia divorce?

Condonation is forgiveness of a spouse’s misconduct. Under this section it bars a divorce when it is voluntary, followed by cohabitation after the acts complained of, and given with notice — that is, with knowledge — of those acts. The bar appears in subsection (a)(4).

Can my spouse block the divorce by saying I cheated too?

The section allows that defense. Subsection (a)(3) bars a divorce where both parties are guilty of like conduct, and subsection (b) lets the respondent plead the petitioner’s conduct in defense. Whether the bar applies depends on the proof, and the jury “may,” on examination of the whole case, refuse a divorce. The section speaks to misconduct-based cases; it does not mention the no-fault ground in § 19-5-3(13).

What is collusion in a Georgia divorce?

Collusion is an agreement between the spouses to stage grounds for divorce. Under subsection (a)(1), no divorce may be granted when the adultery, desertion, cruel treatment or intoxication complained of was brought about by the collusion of the parties with the intention of causing a divorce. Section 19-5-11 reflects a related concern: an uncorroborated confession of adultery or cruel treatment made to serve as evidence is not enough.

Do these defenses apply to a no-fault divorce in Georgia?

The section’s text does not say. Its first two bars name specific misconduct — adultery, desertion, cruel treatment and intoxication — and the others speak of “like conduct” and condonation of “acts complained of.” It never mentions the irretrievably-broken ground in § 19-5-3(13). How these bars bear on a no-fault case is not something this section decides, so a reader facing that question should get legal advice.

Amendment History

Laws 1850, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 226.

Formerly Code 1863, § 1673; Code 1868, § 1714; Code 1873, § 1715; Code 1882, § 1715; Civil Code 1895, § 2429; Civil Code 1910, § 2948; Code 1933, § 30-109.

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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