---
title: HB 379. Courts; divorce actions; provide certain lien protections
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb379
cite_as: HB 379, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb379
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb379.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb379/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70141
date: 2025-02-12
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb378.md
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb379.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 379
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-10
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Martin Momtahan
- Stan Gunter
- Matt Reeves
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB379/2025
upstream_id: 1964622
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- divorce law
- attorney liens
- family court
- domestic relations orders
---
# HB 379. Courts; divorce actions; provide certain lien protections
## Text
House Bill 379
By: Representatives Momtahan of the 17th, Gunter of the 8th, and Reeves of the 99th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 15-19-14 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
liens for services rendered, priority, modes of enforcement, and other rights, so as to provide
certain lien protections in divorce actions; to amend Chapter 1 of Title 19 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to injunctions and restraining orders authorized in
domestic relations actions, so as to provide for notice of standing orders in domestic relations
actions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 15-19-14 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to liens for
services rendered, priority, modes of enforcement, and other rights, is amended by adding
a new subsection to read as follows:
"(g) This Code section shall not authorize an attorney to encumber property awarded to an
adverse party in an action for divorce."
SECTION 2.
Chapter 1 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to injunctions and
restraining orders authorized in domestic relations actions, is amended in Code
Section 19-1-1, relating to injunctions and restraining orders authorized in domestic relations
actions, by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (b) as follows:
"(1) 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;"
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-10)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-12)
- Sponsors: Martin Momtahan, Stan Gunter, Matt Reeves
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70141
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb379.md?full=1