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Divorce in Colquitt County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Colquitt County are filed with the Colquitt County Superior Court. The current filing fee isn’t posted online, so ask the clerk. Counties that post theirs charge $208 to $224.
- The clerk's office is in Room 214 on the second floor of the courthouse on the square in downtown Moultrie, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and closed on major holidays. It handles Superior, State and Juvenile Court cases, and legal notices run in The Moultrie Observer.1
- For questions about the parenting seminar, call the circuit's program line at 229-563-6439, not the sheriff's office. A fee waiver application is available.2
- Colquitt is part of the Southern Judicial Circuit, along with Brooks, Echols, Lowndes and Thomas counties.3
Where to file
Colquitt County Clerk of Superior Court
Colquitt County Courthouse, 9 South Main Street, Room 214
Moultrie, GA 31768
Phone: 229-616-74201
Filing fee
The clerk doesn't post its divorce filing fee or sheriff service fee online, so call the clerk at 229-616-7420 before you file. Mail goes to P.O. Box 2827, Moultrie, GA 31776. For comparison, Georgia counties that post their fee charge between $208 and $224 to file a divorce. Compare counties.1
Parenting class
If you have children under 18, each parent must finish the circuit's seminar, "In the Best Interest of the Children," or another program the court approves, within 45 days after the other spouse is served or signs an acknowledgment of service.4
Mediation
Under the Southern Circuit's ADR rules, a contested family case still open 150 days after filing is referred to mediation, and the judge can refer it sooner or the spouses can ask. Cases are screened for domestic violence first, and the spouses split the mediator's fee equally unless the judge orders otherwise.5
Court forms
The Southern Circuit posts divorce packets for cases with and without minor children, contested or uncontested, with filing instructions. Go to the forms.6
Standing order
The circuit's standing order of November 4, 2022 starts the day the divorce is filed and lasts 60 days, or until a temporary order, unless the court extends it. Without written agreement or a court order, neither parent may take the children out of school or day care, hide or move them, or discuss the case or criticize the other parent in front of them. Neither spouse may cancel insurance, utilities or the other's phone, change beneficiaries, or drain marital accounts beyond normal expenses and legal fees.4
Also good to know
Colquitt's Superior Court holds non-jury hearings every Tuesday, plus special settings. Superior Court trial terms are in February, May, August and November.1
Southern Judicial Circuit rules
Colquitt County shares its Superior Court judges and divorce rules with Brooks, Echols, Lowndes and Thomas counties. The circuit's page has the full standing order, the mediation and parenting seminar rules, and the circuit's other divorce rules.
Free and low-cost help in Colquitt County
- Colquitt County Serenity House. A state-certified family violence program in Moultrie serving Colquitt County. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 229-782-5394.
Phone: 229-890-72337 - 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: 833-457-75298
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.9
Colquitt County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Colquitt County, Clerk of Court: key points, address and phone, filing fees and other court rules (colquittcountyga.gov)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, program for parents on the effects of divorce on children (southernjudicialcircuit.com)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, standing order for domestic relations actions, November 2022 (PDF): parenting class and standing order (southernjudicialcircuit.com, PDF)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, local ADR program rules (PDF) (southernjudicialcircuit.com, PDF)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, self-help family law forms (southernjudicialcircuit.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 (gasupreme.us)
Court fees and rules change. Check with the clerk before you file. If something here looks out of date, email help@divorce.city.
Nearby counties
Fees and court rules differ from county to county. Guides for neighboring counties: Thomas County and Tift County.
Colquitt County also borders Brooks, Cook, Mitchell and Worth counties. Their clerks are listed on the Georgia page.