In Georgia, there is no requirement that one spouse vacate the marital residence during the pendency of the divorce action. In fact, many spouses remain living together during the divorce process because neither of them can afford to live on their own – the spouse remaining in the marital home may not be able to afford the bills associated with the residence on his/her own, while a spouse wanting to move out may not be able to afford to set up a new residence. Until the assets are divided and the divorce is finalized, spouses are often stuck living together and sharing living expenses.
Fortunately, in Georgia, so long as the parties are no longer engaged in a marital relationship, they are living in a “bona fide state of separation” sufficient for divorce underGeorgia law, even if they are physically still living together. It is important to remember that “no longer engaging in a marital relationship,” means no longer engaging in a sexual relationship.If the parties do engage in a sexual relationship after the divorce is filed, the court will likely dismiss the divorce action and the parties must then re-file (and repay filing fees, service fees, etc.) if they want to continue with the divorce. Therefore, if you and your spouse must remain living together while the divorce action is pending, you would be best served sleeping indifferent rooms and staying out of each other’s way until the divorce is finalized.