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Divorce in Clarke County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Clarke County are filed with the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The filing fee is $218, and sheriff service is $50 per service.
Athens-Clarke County shares the Western Judicial Circuit with Oconee County.[1] Parents of children under 18 have to complete a two-hour, $25 parenting program before the divorce is final, and they're scheduled for it automatically.[2]
Where to file
Athens-Clarke County Clerk of Superior and State Courts
325 E. Washington Street, Suite 450
Athens, GA 30601
Phone: 706-613-3190[3]
Filing fee
$218 to file. Sheriff service: $50 per service.[4]
Parenting class
Anyone filing for divorce with children under 18 has to complete the Divorcing Parents Program before the final decree is entered. It's a two-hour session, a 30-minute video followed by information from Athens Family Counseling Services, and costs $25 per parent. Parents are scheduled automatically and get a notice by mail. Parents in Athens-Clarke cases attend in Athens.[2]
Mediation
The Tenth District Alternative Dispute Resolution Program handles mediation for the Superior Court. A case can be referred to mediation by order of the assigned judge, on the recommendation of the program's director or coordinator, or at the request of the spouses or their lawyers. Trained, registered mediators run the sessions, and in Superior Court cases the spouses pay the mediator.[5]
Standing order
A domestic relations standing order signed January 30, 2019 binds both spouses in every divorce and other family case filed in the circuit. The spouse who files attaches a copy to the papers served on the other spouse. It bars threatening or harassing the other spouse or the children; taking the children out of Georgia except for ordinary family activities or an emergency, and for those trips the other parent gets the dates, places and contact information in writing; selling or moving property out of the state except in the ordinary course of business or an emergency; and changing any insurance policy without the other spouse's written consent. It also encourages both parents not to put the children in the middle, such as by having them carry messages or child support payments.[6]
Also good to know
Divorces and other family cases filed by someone without a lawyer go on a separate self-represented domestic docket, under a 2019 order of the circuit's judges.[7]
Free and low-cost help in Clarke County
- Project Safe. A state-certified family violence program serving Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Madison counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 706-549-0922.
Phone: 706-543-3331[8] - 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[9]
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.[10]
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Tenth District ADR Program, Divorcing Parents Program: key points and parenting class (accgov.com)
- ^ Athens-Clarke County Clerk of Superior and State Courts (accgov.com)
- ^ Athens-Clarke County Clerk of Superior and State Courts fee schedule (accgov.com)
- ^ Tenth District ADR Program, history and how cases are referred (accgov.com)
- ^ Western Judicial Circuit, domestic relations standing order, January 2019 (PDF) (accgov.com)
- ^ Western Judicial Circuit, order creating the self-represented domestic docket, 2019 (PDF) (accgov.com)
- ^ 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.