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Divorce in Coweta County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Coweta County are filed with the Coweta County Superior Court. The filing fee is $215, and sheriff service is $50 per defendant, for people served in Coweta County.
Coweta County shares the Coweta Judicial Circuit with Meriwether and Troup counties.[1] Under a Superior Court standing order, divorces and other domestic cases must be mediated within 150 days of filing.[2]
Where to file
Coweta County Clerk of Superior Court, Court Services
Coweta County Justice Center, 72 Greenville Street
Newnan, GA 30263
Phone: 770-254-2695[3]
Filing fee
$215 to file. Sheriff service: $50 per defendant, for people served in Coweta County.[4]
Parenting class
When custody or visitation is at issue, both parents have to attend and complete a court-approved program on the effects of divorce on children within 30 days after the petition is served. Approved programs include Children of Divorce, Parents Forever, Parenting Through Divorce and Positive Parenting Through Divorce. To use a different program, you first file a motion with its syllabus and get the judge's approval. Proof of completion is filed with the clerk.[5]
Mediation
A Superior Court standing order requires civil and domestic cases in Coweta, Meriwether and Troup counties to be mediated within 150 days of filing, through the circuit's mediation program. The program uses a domestic relations screening form and an online screening survey before family mediation. Any settlement reached in mediation is voluntary, and a fee waiver application is available.[2]
Court forms
The clerk posts the forms that go with a domestic case, including the parenting plan, child support addendum, the ADR initiation form you file with a divorce to start mediation scheduling, and the case filing information form. It doesn't post a complete divorce packet, and its notice to self-represented filers warns that no one in the clerk's office can give legal advice. Go to the forms.[6]
Standing order
Standing Order Number 3 applies to every divorce and other family case in the circuit, and the spouse who files serves a copy with the petition. Once a spouse has notice of it, it bars taking the children out of the area the order defines as the circuit (Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Meriwether and Troup counties) without the court's permission, except in an emergency the other spouse created; threatening, harassing or stalking the other spouse or the children; and selling, hiding or moving property except in the ordinary course of business or such an emergency.[5]
Also good to know
Coweta's clerk notes that civil filing fees rose $4 on July 1, 2024, when the sheriff's retirement fee went up. A family violence petition has no filing fee. Sheriff service at $50 is available only for people being served in Coweta County.[4]
Free and low-cost help in Coweta County
- West Georgia Domestic Violence Shelter. A state-certified family violence program in Carrollton serving Coweta, Carroll, Haralson, Heard and Meriwether counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 770-834-9178.
Phone: 770-834-1141[7] - 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[8]
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]
Coweta County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Coweta Judicial Circuit ADR program (Troup County Mediation Center): key points and mediation (troupcountyga.gov)
- ^ Coweta County Superior Court Clerk, contact (coweta.ga.us)
- ^ Coweta County Superior Court Clerk, filing and copy fees (updated for July 1, 2024): filing fees and other court rules (coweta.ga.us)
- ^ Coweta Judicial Circuit, Standing Order Number 3, domestic relations actions (PDF): parenting class and standing order (coweta.ga.us)
- ^ Coweta County Superior Court Clerk, court forms (coweta.ga.us)
- ^ 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.