| STATE PROCEDURES | ||
| How much is the filing fee in Georgia? | ||
| The filing fee charged by the Court is NOT included in the DivorceWriter price. In Georgia, the filing fee is typically $150-$250. | ||
| Will either of us be required to attend a court hearing? | ||
| It depends. In Georgia, when you file for divorce, most counties will also schedule a hearing to finalize your divorce. However, some counties do not require a court hearing to finalize your divorce. | ||
| How do I serve my spouse with the divorce papers in Georgia? | ||
| Formal service is not required in an uncontested divorce in Georgia. The non-filing spouse signs an Acknowledgment of Service and Consent to Jurisdiction in front of a Notary Public, which is then filed with the Court as proof that he or she was served with the divorce papers. | ||
| What are the basic steps to getting a divorce in Georgia? | ||
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STEP 1: Filing Your Petition Review and sign the documents. Bring the Filing Fee AND three signed copies of your Petition for Divorce to the Clerk's office. The Clerk will keep one copy of your Petition and will "file stamp" your other two copies showing the date and time you filed your petition. You also have the option to e-file your documents instead. STEP 2: Acknowledgment of Service The customer is filing an uncontested divorce, where both spouses agree to the terms of the divorce. In a contested case, the other spouse (the Respondent) would typically be served a copy of the petition by a sheriff. In an uncontested case, the Petitioner does not need to pay extra to have a sheriff serve the papers. Instead, we have provided a Acknowledgment of Service and Consent to Jurisdiction for the Respondent to sign. The Petitioner gives his or her spouse a file-stamped copy of the Petition and the Acknowledgment of Service. The Respondent signs the Acknowledgment. The Petitioner the signed Acknowledgment with the Clerk's office. Wait 31 days (from date Acknowledgment filed) STEP 3 : Finalizing the Divorce The Petitioner schedules the hearing with the judge's secretary. Only Petitioner has to go to the court hearing. The actual uncontested hearing typically takes around 10 minutes. At the hearing, the Petitioner provides the court clerk with a signed Marital Settlement Agreement along with any attached exhibits. The customer waits for the judge to call his or her case. After the judge hears the testimony he or she will sign the Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce. Once your Decree is signed, your divorce is final. | ||
| What documents are included in the self-prepared Georgia DivorceWriter package? | ||
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Georgia customers will receive the following completed documents: Georgia Petition for Divorce Petition Verification Domestic Relations Case Filing Information Acknowledgment of Service and Consent to Jursidiction Marital Settlement Agreement Documents Regarding Children (GA child support worksheet, possession, visitation, health insurance...) Financial Affidavits for each spouse (for divorces with children only) Georgia Report of Divorce Final Disposition Information Form Georgia Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce Filing Instructions for your Georgia County | ||
| In which county can the divorce be filed? | ||
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The spouse that files for divorce is the Petitioner. The other spouse automatically becomes the Respondent. The divorce can always be filed in the Georgia county where the Respondent resides. However, if both spouses agree on any other county in Georgia other than the one where the Respondent resides, DivorceWriter provides a form for the Respondent to sign consenting to the jurisdiction of the court in the agreed upon county. | ||
| Which spouse can file for divorce? | ||
| The spouse that files for divorce is the Petitioner. The other spouse automatically becomes the Respondent. In Georgia, the Petitioner must have resided in the state for at least six months prior to the date the divorce is filed. | ||
| What is considered to be the date of separation in Georgia? | ||
| The term "separation date" sometimes refers to the date when the spouses stopped living at... more | ||
| What are the Georgia residency requirements for filing for divorce? | ||
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The spouse filing must have been a resident of Georgia for 6 months and file for divorce in the county of residence. Divorces are typically filed in the county where the Respondent lives. Even if you choose a different county than the one the Respondent lives in, DivorceWriter provides a form for the Respondent to sign accepting jurisdiction of the county chosen. However, a non-resident may file for divorce against a spouse who has been a resident of Georgia for 6 months. In such cases, the divorce must be filed for in the county in which the respondent resides. | ||
| How long does it usually take to finalize a divorce in Georgia? | ||
| The fastest you can complete an uncontested divorce in Georgia is 31 days. | ||
| What are the grounds for filing for divorce in Georgia? | ||
| The no-fault grounds for divorce in Georgia is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. | ||
| How do you e-file in Georgia? | ||
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The two e-filing service providers in Georgia are Peach Court and Odyssey e-file. The correct e-filing service provider for you depends on the county where your divorce is being filed. In Forsyth, Muscogee and Spaulding Superior Courts, you can use either Peach Court or Odyssey. In the following Superior Courts, you must use Odyssey e-File: Bibb, Chatham, Cherokee, Clayton, Decatur, Dekalb, Douglas, Fulton, Glynn, Gwinette, Lowndes and Rockdale. No e-filing is available in Floyd County Superior Court. In all other counties, you must use Peach Court to e-file your divorce. You may request step-by-step e-filing procedures for your county at info@DivorceWriter.com. | ||
| How does my spouse waive jurisdiction in order to have the divorce filed in a county other than the county where he or she lives? | ||
| An Acknowledgment of Service, Consent to Jurisdiction and Venue, and Consent to Present Case is included in every DivorceWriter Georgia document package. This document is signed by the Respondent in front of a Notary Public, and contains language whereby the Respondent waives jurisdiction and consents to have the divorce filed in a county other than his or her county of residence. | ||
| Is e-filing mandatory in Georgia? | ||
| On January 1, 2019, e-filing became mandatory for civil cases filed in Georgia, but it only applies to those cases filed by attorneys. People without lawyers, also known as pro se, are encouraged to e-file, but they are not required to do so. This means that the Court Clerk must continue to accept paper document filings in person or by mail from people filing for divorce without an attorney. | ||
| Do I need a Summons? | ||
| No. Each Georgia DivorceWriter package contains an Acknowledgment of Service, Consent to Jurisdiction and Venue, and Consent to Present Case to be signed by the Defendant. This document serves many purposes, among them is stating that Defendant waives formal service. Because formal service, which generally means service of the divorce papers and a Summons by a process server, is waived, a Summons is obsolete and not included in the DivorceWriter package. | ||
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| CUSTODY, VISITATION, SUPPORT | ||
| Is child support required in Georgia? | ||
| Yes. Even when parents agree to very little or no child support, courts may reject the terms because parents have a duty to support their children both before and after a divorce. | ||
| What if my spouse and I have agreed to an amount different from the standard Child Support Guidelines calculation? | ||
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DivorceWriter completes a Georgia Child Support Worksheet based on the financial information provided by the customer in this online interview. However, the DivorceWriter online interview accommodates customers who have already completed a Georgia Child Support Worksheet or who want to complete one using the official Georgia online calculator. If a customer selects "No" to using the standard calculation, there is a link to the calculator. The customer then has the option of using the online calculator on the Georgia site to generate and print out a Child Support Worksheet. Then, the customer enters the child support amount determined on the self-prepared worksheet as the actual amount. | ||
| What is the standard Georgia Visitation? | ||
| DivorceWriter Georgia standard visitation language provides reasonable and liberal visitation. It allows parents to agree to visitation as they choose, but if there is a disagreement it provides the Custodial and Noncustodial parents specific times with the children. The children would spend most of the time with the Custodial parent, but reserves time with the Noncustodial parent including every other weekend, some holidays, and up to four weeks in the summer. | ||
| How is child support calculated in Georgia? | ||
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Based on the information provided by the customer when completing this online interview, a computer generated Child Support Worksheet is automatically created and sent to the customer as part of the DivorceWriter package. Additional information on the calculation of child support can be found at csc.georgiacourts.org | ||
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| PROPERTY AND DEBTS | ||
| Can we customize our documents to fit our plans for our real estate? | ||
| The DivorceWriter online interview allows customers to list not only the street address, c... more | ||
| Why do I have to complete financial disclosures in an uncontested divorce? | ||
| More than half of the states require one or both spouses to complete a document listing th... more | ||
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| SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES | ||
| What if one spouse is living in a foreign country? | ||
| If your spouse is able to receive documents in the mail and is willing to sign and return ... more | ||
| What if one spouse is in the military? | ||
| If both parties are willing to sign the papers, ending your marriage when a spouse is in t... more | ||
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