Georgia Spousal Support Calculator
Estimate alimony under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1: need and ability to pay, the adultery and desertion bar, and remarriage and cohabitation

Georgia has no alimony formula. Under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-1, alimony is an allowance out of one party's estate for the support of the other when living separately, and it is either temporary or permanent. Except where a bar applies, alimony is authorized, but not required, to be awarded to either party in accordance with the needs of the party and the ability of the other party to pay, and the court must consider evidence of the conduct of each party toward the other (§ 19-6-1(c)).

Section 19-6-5(a) lists: the standard of living established in the marriage; the duration of the marriage; the age and the physical and emotional condition of both parties; the financial resources of each party; where applicable, the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to find appropriate employment; the contribution of each party to the marriage, including homemaking, child care, education and career building of the other party; the condition of the parties, including the separate estate, earning capacity and fixed liabilities of the parties; and such other relevant factors as the court deems equitable and proper.

It can. Under § 19-6-1(b), a party is not entitled to alimony if it is established by a preponderance of the evidence that the separation between the parties was caused by that party's adultery or desertion. The court must receive evidence of the factual cause of the separation in all cases in which alimony is sought, whatever the grounds for divorce. The bar applies only when the adultery or desertion caused the separation, and it concerns alimony only: courts have recognized that an equitable division of property is still possible.

The statute describes alimony as temporary or permanent. Temporary alimony can be ordered while the divorce is pending (§ 19-6-3). In practice, permanent alimony may be periodic, paid for a set period (often called rehabilitative) or until a terminating event, or paid as a lump sum, which is generally not modifiable. Georgia sets no duration table: the court decides the amount and length from the factors.

Periodic alimony payments not yet due end when the recipient remarries, unless the decree or agreement says otherwise (§ 19-6-5(b)). Cohabitation does not end alimony automatically. Under § 19-6-19(b), after a final judgment awarding periodic alimony, the recipient's voluntary cohabitation with a third party in a meretricious relationship is grounds to modify periodic permanent alimony. Cohabitation means dwelling together continuously and openly in a meretricious relationship with another person, regardless of the other person's sex. The Georgia Supreme Court has said this means sexual intercourse or the sharing of living expenses, going beyond periodic physical interludes (Hathcock v. Hathcock, 249 Ga. 74 (1982), as discussed in Provenzano v. Jones, 302 Ga. 139 (2017)). A petitioner who does not prevail on the cohabitation ground may owe the other side's attorney's fees.

Periodic permanent alimony can be modified on a showing of a substantial change in the income or financial status of either former spouse (§ 19-6-19(a)). Georgia law generally allows modification petitions no more than once every two years, so a premature petition can be dismissed. Lump-sum alimony is generally not modifiable. Keep paying until a court order or a termination event applies.

Pending final determination of the right to alimony, neither party may make any substantial change in the assets of their estate except in the ordinary course of business and bona fide transfers for value (§ 19-6-1(e)). If a party dies before the court rules, the other party's alimony rights survive and are a lien on the deceased party's estate (§ 19-6-1(d)).

For divorce or separation instruments executed after December 31, 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payor and not taxable income to the recipient for federal income tax purposes, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Instruments executed on or before December 31, 2018 keep the old federal treatment unless a later modification expressly adopts the new rules. Ask a tax professional how your Georgia return treats alimony.

Because Georgia has no formula, the calculator follows the statute's test: need and ability to pay. It measures the recipient's monthly need (counted expenses minus income) and the payor's ability to pay (income minus expenses and child support) and illustrates the smaller figure. It first checks whether you entered a fact that would bar alimony under § 19-6-1(b). It also indicates whether rehabilitative or longer-term periodic alimony looks more likely, using screening thresholds chosen for this tool, not Georgia law, and lists your answers against the § 19-6-5(a) factors.

It does not predict an award. A judge has wide discretion and weighs the conduct of each party toward the other.