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Divorce in Bulloch County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Bulloch County are filed with the Bulloch County Superior Court. The filing fee is $213, and sheriff service is $50.
Bulloch County is in the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit with Effingham, Jenkins and Screven counties.[1] Under the seminar order for Bulloch, Jenkins and Screven counties, no hearing except an emergency, and no mediation, is scheduled until both parties have shown proof they attended the seminar.[2] When mediation is ordered, it usually has to be finished within 90 days of the order, and in a divorce the spouses must complete a Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit before mediation and bring it.[3]
Where to file
Bulloch County Clerk of Courts
20 Siebald Street
Statesboro, GA 30458
Phone: 912-764-9009[4]
Filing fee
$213 to file. Sheriff service: $50.[4]
Parenting class
When a divorce involves children under 18, both parents must complete the four-hour Seminar for Divorcing Parents within 31 days after the original complaint is served. A certificate from another four-hour seminar approved by a Georgia Superior Court counts if it's less than three years old. Parents must attend all four hours, the fee can be waived with a sworn statement of poverty, and the judge can excuse the seminar for good cause.[2]
Mediation
The circuit encourages mediation and orders it in some cases. Once ordered, the spouses have 10 days to choose a mediator approved by the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution and tell the circuit's ADR program; if they can't agree, the ADR program director assigns one. Lawyers may attend but aren't required, children aren't allowed, and if there's no agreement the case goes back to court without the judge being told why.[3]
Court forms
The Ogeechee circuit posts a numbered set of do-it-yourself divorce documents, from the complaint and summons through the settlement agreement, parenting plan, financial affidavit and final decree, plus checklists. Go to the forms.[5]
Also good to know
The clerk's office doesn't hand out legal forms and points filers to icandocs.org for Georgia forms. Superior Court civil cases can be e-filed through a link on the clerk's page, and the office is at 20 Siebald Street in Statesboro.[4]
Free and low-cost help in Bulloch County
- Safe Haven (Citizens Against Violence). A state-certified family violence program in Statesboro serving Bulloch, Effingham, Screven, Jenkins, Candler and Washington counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 912-764-9366.
Phone: 912-764-4605[6] - Georgia Legal Services Program. Free civil legal help, including family law, for people with low incomes in 154 of Georgia's 159 counties. Apply online or call the intake line.
Phone: 833-457-7529[7]
If you need an interpreter
If you or a witness needs an interpreter, including sign language, tell the court in writing before the hearing, at least 5 days ahead where you can. The court then works to provide a licensed interpreter at its own expense.[8]
Bulloch County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Ogeechee Judicial Circuit, standing order on the Seminar for Divorcing Parents, 2002 (PDF): key points and parenting class (firstjudicialdistrict.org, PDF)
- ^ First Judicial Administrative District, Ogeechee Circuit mediation page: key points and mediation (firstjudicialdistrict.org)
- ^ Bulloch County Clerk of Courts: address and phone, filing fees and other court rules (bullochcounty.net)
- ^ First Judicial Administrative District, Ogeechee Circuit pro se divorce documents (firstjudicialdistrict.org)
- ^ Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, state-certified family violence agencies (PDF) (cjcc.georgia.gov)
- ^ Georgia Legal Services Program, what we do (glsp.org)
- ^ Uniform Superior Court Rule 7.3, interpreters (rulesofcivilprocedure.com)
Court fees and rules change. Check with the clerk before you file. If something here looks out of date, email help@divorce.city.