Georgia CommonsHB 379: Courts; divorce actions; provide certain lien protections
Last action February 12, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would stop divorce attorneys from placing liens on property awarded to the other spouse, and would require standing court orders in divorce cases to be given as formal notice to both parties, the judge, and attorneys.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, attorneys can claim a lien (a legal claim against property to secure payment for services) on property involved in a lawsuit. This bill changes that rule for divorce cases specifically: an attorney could no longer use that lien law to encumber, meaning place a legal claim on, property that a court awards to the other spouse in a divorce. The bill also changes how standing orders work in domestic relations cases. These are automatic court orders, often restraining orders, issued when a divorce or custody case begins. Currently they bind the parties and people acting with them once there is notice. The bill requires that notice be given specifically to the parties and to the judge handling the case, and it adds that the order also binds the parties' attorneys and former attorneys, not just the parties themselves.
What the bill does
- Adds a new subsection to Georgia's attorney lien law (O.C.G.A. § 15-19-14) barring attorneys from encumbering property awarded to the other spouse in a divorce.
- Amends Georgia's domestic relations injunction law (O.C.G.A. § 19-1-1) to require notice of standing orders be given to both parties and to the judge overseeing the case.
- Expands who is bound by a domestic relations standing order to explicitly include the parties' attorneys and former attorneys.
- Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with these changes.
Who it affects
Divorcing spouses, the attorneys who represent them in divorce cases, judges presiding over domestic relations actions, and former attorneys who previously represented a party in such a case.
Why it matters
The changes would limit a tool some divorce attorneys currently use to secure unpaid fees by placing claims on the opposing spouse's awarded property, and would make clear that court-issued standing orders in divorce cases apply to attorneys as well as the spouses themselves.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds subsection (g) to O.C.G.A. § 15-19-14 stating the lien law does not authorize an attorney to encumber property awarded to an adverse party in a divorce.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 19-1-1(b)(1) to require notice of a standing order be given to the parties and the presiding judge, and to bind attorneys and former attorneys along with the parties.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.
From the bill
“This Code section shall not authorize an attorney to encumber property awarded to an adverse party in an action for divorce.”
“Upon notice to the parties and the judge before whom the domestic relations action is pending, binds the parties in such action, their agents, including their attorneys and their former attorneys, servants, and employees, and all other persons acting in concert with such parties”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)
- Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)
- Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
Topics
- divorce law
- attorney liens
- family court
- domestic relations orders