As reported by the Washington Post, Washington D.C. has passed a law that eliminates its local waiting period to obtain a divorce, now allowing residents to file for divorce at any time. The law was passed by the D.C. Council in November of 2023, and it went into effect in late January, 2024.

D.C. Law Background

This new D.C. law does a few very important things that bring it closer to the laws in other states. D.C. law previously allowed a married couple to divorce six months after living separately, but only if both parties agreed. If they did not agree, then they were required to remain married for a year. Now, without that waiting period, people married to abusive spouses are no longer need the ‘permission’ of their spouse to proceed with a divorce before waiting out the one year timeline. Additionally, the new law requires courts to take into consideration issues of domestic violence and abuse in the divorce process.

Comparison to Georgia Law

Thankfully, Georgia is ahead of the curve on these issues. Specifically, Georgia does not generally have any waiting time requirements before a spouse can file for divorce. Either spouse can file a divorce at any time under Georgia law, so long as that spouse has lived in Georgia for at least 6 months prior to filing for divorce. (If they have not lived in Georgia for at least 6 months, they can still pursue other options, like separate maintenance).

Once a divorce is filed in a Georgia court, there is a 30 day waiting period before the court can grant a final divorce, even when the parties reach a complete settlement before then. However, that 30-day waiting period plays any material role in completely uncontested cases (or cases that settle very early), as a vast majority of contested cases take more than 30 days to resolve.

Additionally, while the new D.C. law only now apparently allows those courts to take issues like domestic violence and abuse into consideration, Georgia law has long allowed trial courts to consider those factors in making determinations in a divorce case. As an “equitable division” state, Georgia law allows trial courts to divide assets “equitably”—meaning, fairly—taking into consideration all relevant facts and circumstances of the parties.

Conclusion

D.C.’s new law brings it more in line with states like Georgia, which do not have any statutory waiting periods before a party can file for divorce (other than jurisdictional residency requirements). This will help ensure that spouses in D.C. are not locked in a marriage to an abusive or harmful partner while waiting out some arbitrary timeline.

Luckily, Georgia has no such law, and parties considering divorce in Georgia are not restrained by any artificial time limits on when they can file. If you are considering filing for divorce in Georgia, you should contact a family law attorney. At Resurgens Legal Counsel, we are here to assist you through these difficult situations and offer empathetic and strategic advice. Schedule a consultation today through our website or by calling (770) 765-7550.