GEORGIA DIVORCE
A divorce can be filed if either party has been a resident of the state and county for six months. When the defendant is a nonresident, then you must have been a bona fide resident of this state for six months prior to the filing of the complaint, which must be stated in the complaint and proved at the final hearing (Drivers License, etc.).
If you have minor children living with your spouse in another state for over six months then you should consider filing in that state as that court has jurisdiction over the children. You spouse can waive that jurisdiction in writing.
County of Filing:
You should file the divorce in the county your spouse lives in, or in the county that you both lived in when you separated, or in your county if your spouse lives out of state. You or your spouse must have a Georgia address in the county of filing. Georgia civilian residents living overseas may file in Georgia if they have maintained their residency in Georgia.
MILITARY:
Active duty members of the military (or their spouses) may file in Georgia if they have been stationed in Georgia for six months or were residents of Georgia when they entered active duty. Smart Divorce.com staff includes former active duty officers and enlisted personnel and are completely knowledgeable on the special military requirements and the “Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act”. Our staff prides themselves on the service they provide our military members.
GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE: NO-FAULT or FAULT ?
The marriage is irretrievably broken. Under this ground the parties will not be granted a divorce until 30 days have lapsed from the time of filing.
A full list of the fault grounds that are available for a divorce filed in Georgia are as follows: (Requires proof or the case can be dismissed)
(1) Intermarriage by persons within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity;
(2) Mental incapacitation;
(3) Impotence at the time of getting married;
(4) Force, duress and fraud
(5) Pregnancy of the wife by a man other than the husband, at the time of the marriage, unknown to the husband;
(6) Adultery by either spouse (7) Willful and continued desertion by either of the spouses for the term of 1 year;
(8) Conviction of a felony and imprisoned for a term of 2 years or longer;
(9) Habitual drunkenness;
(10) Cruel treatment;
(11) Incurable mental illness.
(12) Habitual drug addiction.
WAITING PERIOD:
Georgia law requires that thirty (30) days elapse from the filing of the Complaint and summons or Answer and Waiver before a final judgment of divorce be entered. If your spouse signs the Georgia "Answer and Waiver..." immediately after you file the complaint then you can divorced in as little as 30 days.
PROPERTY OF THE MARRIAGE:
In a divorce, the property (land, house, buildings, and items of personal property) owned (and debts owed) by the couple is divided between the parties. In an uncontested divorce, this division is accomplished by means of a Marital Separation Agreement (MSA). You and your spouse must agree to the property and debt division and memorialize your agreement in the Marital Separation Agreement, which will be incorporated by reference into the Decree of Divorce that ultimately ends your marriage. You may agree to divide the property any way you like, as long as a basic fairness is maintained. You do not need to list items already divided or not an important issue in the divorce. You may revise the MSA after receipt of the documents from us by sending an email with your changes. There is never a charge for revisions at any time up to one year.
If you cannot agree on any item of this division, the dissolution of marriage transforms into a contested divorce. If at the final hearing the divorce is still contested we do not provide advice for that hearing. You may need to consult an attorney or be prepared to tell the judge why you feel your requested division of property is fair.
SPOUSAL SUPPORT:
Spousal Support is either agreed upon by the parties or determined by the judge in a contested hearing. We cannot give legal advice regarding spousal support but will include your request in the documents.
The questionnaire you fill out will outline the custody, visitation and support for the children. We will prepare the documents accordingly, and we will also prepare a Marital Separation Agreement (at no additional cost) which outlines in specific detail all the provisions regarding the children. Both parties must attend the parenting class or get a waiver. A list of the places in Georgia to attend may be obtained from the court.
CHILD SUPPORT:
The child support will either be an amount you and your spouse agree upon, or it will be determined for you by the court, according to the Georgia Child Support Guidelines. If you wish the court to calculate the amount then you will need to file the standardized Child Support Guidelines form and Child Support Income Statement/Affidavit which we provide. See “Georgia Child Support Calculator” on any search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.
CUSTODY:
You may have Joint Legal Custody or Sole Legal Custody. This determines how the decisions are made regarding the raising of the child(ren).
Physical custody may be with one residential parent or “SPLIT CUSTODY” where the child(ren) live a substantial time with each parent.
VISITATION:
This can be any program agreed upon by the parties and may change from time to time. If the parties cannot agree then the state guidelines are in effect. State guidelines are outlined in the MSA provided with your documents. You do not need to list your present visitation agreement as it will change from time to time but you may if you wish. “No Visitation” or “Restricted Visitation” may be requested by supplying the reason on the questionnaire.
COURT ADDRESSES:
You must file the divorce documents in the Superior Court in the county that you are filing in. Some court addresses for larger counties are as follows:
Fulton County Superior Court: 136 Pryor Street S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Phone: (404) 730-4518
Chatham County Superior Court: 133 Montgomery St., Savannah, GA 31401 Phone: (912) 652-7201 Fax:(912) 652-7523
Richmond County Superior Court: 530 Greene St., Augusta, GA 30911 Phone: (706) 821-1837 Fax: (706) 821-2448
Muscogee County Superior Court: 100 Tenth St., Columbus, GA 31902-1340 Phone: (706) 653-4370 Fax: (706) 653-4359
Cobb County Superior Court: 32 Waddell Street, Marietta, GA 30090 Phone: (770) 528-1300 Fax: (770) 528-1382
Clarke County Superior Court: 325 E. Washington St, Athens, GA 30601 Phone: (706) 613-3190 Fax:(706) 613-3189
Richmond County Superior Court: 530 Greene St., Augusta, GA 30911 Phone: 706-821-1837 Fax: 706-821-2448
Dougherty County Superior Court: PO Box 1827, Albany, GA 31702-1827 Phone: (229) 431-2198 Fax: (229) 878-3155
FILING FEES:
The court filing fees for a divorce in Georgia is approximately $80-$85.
If your spouse won't sign and must be served, then the sheriff may charge a fee of around $25 to serve your spouse.
If you don't know the whereabouts of your spouse, then your spouse will need to be served by publication. The average publication fee is approximately $75.
You may call the Clerk of the Court in your county to determine the exact fees in your county.
METHODS OF SERVICE:
1. The most common way is to have your spouse sign the documents AFTER you have filed the complaint with the court. You can hand deliver the documents , mail them or have a third party deliver them to your spouse. This method is available even though your spouse is incarcerated.
2. If your spouse will not sign or you not not sure if your spouse will sign then you can get service by having the sheriff in spouse’s county serve a copy of the filed documents along with other documents requiring spouse’s signature. You can contact the sheriff in any state to serve your spouse. You can also get service by Certified Mail, (Return Receipt Requested) if your spouse lives out of state. If your spouse is incarcerated then you can get service by having the prison/jail officials serve your spouse.
3. Service by publication. If you cannot find your spouse after a diligent search then you can publish. The publication fee for the newspaper is approximately $65 but varies for different counties. Upon the filing of the Affidavit the clerk shall direct that service of notice be made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the complaint is filed. We provide all the required documents for service by publication.
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