Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia

Tthe criminal bigamy charges have to be brought in Savannah, Chatham County, GA because that is where the crime occurred. See OCGA � 16-6-20. Bigamy

(a) A person commits the offense of bigamy when he, being married and knowing that his lawful spouse is living, marries another person or carries on a bigamous cohabitation with another person.

(b) It shall be an affirmative defense that the prior spouse has been continually absent for a period of seven years, during which time the accused did not know the prior spouse to be alive, or that the accused reasonably believed he was eligible to remarry.

(c) A person convicted of the offense of bigamy shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years.

The divorce can be brought where you reside if your husband is not in Georgia, but since he is, you will have to file for divorce ion Savannah as per Article VI, Section II of the GA Constitution:

SECTION II.

VENUE

Paragraph I. Divorce cases. Divorce cases shall be tried in the county where the defendant

resides, if a resident of this state; if the defendant is not a resident of this state, then in

the county in which the plaintiff resides; provided, however, a divorce case may be tried in

the county of residence of the plaintiff if the defendant has moved from that same county

within six months from the date of the filing of the divorce action and said county was the

site of the marital domicile at the time of the separation of the parties, and provided, further,

that any person who has been a resident of any United States army post or military

reservation within the State of Georgia for one year next preceding the filing of the petition

may bring an action for divorce in any county adjacent to said United States army post or

military reservation.