Divorce in Henry County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Henry County are filed with the Henry County Superior Court. The filing fee is $218, and sheriff service is $50.
- The county's cost schedule lists $218 to file a divorce and $50 for each service packet the sheriff delivers. Its divorce page gives $215.50 for an uncontested divorce, and the clerk doesn't take personal checks. Confirm the amount and how to pay before you file.1
- If you and your spouse have signed a settlement agreement, the final hearing can be set any time at least 31 days after your spouse was served or the acknowledgment of service was filed. If your spouse was served by newspaper notice, the hearing can come any time after 61 days from the first publication.2
- To get a hearing date, you fill out a rule nisi, the form that asks the judge to set a hearing. Take the original and a copy to your assigned judge's office, and the judge's staff fills in the date. Each judge schedules uncontested final hearings differently, so ask that judge's staff how it works.2
- Henry County is its own judicial circuit, the Flint Judicial Circuit.3
Where to file
Henry County Clerk of Superior Court
Henry County Courthouse, One Courthouse Square
McDonough, GA 30253
Phone: 770-288-80224
Filing fee
$218 to file. Sheriff service: $50.5
Parenting class
Georgia courts may require divorcing parents to attend a seminar of up to four hours. Henry County's court pages don't list one, so ask the clerk whether it applies to your case.6
Mediation
All contested family cases must go to the court's ADR office for mediation before any court hearing. Without mediation there's no hearing unless the ADR office excuses it in writing. To start, send the office a Domestic Relations Initiation Form. The office screens the case and either schedules a session or releases it. Missing a scheduled session can bring fines and other sanctions. The ADR office's number is 770-288-8448.2
Court forms
The court posts two free divorce packets, one for divorces with children and one without, with step-by-step instructions written for Henry County. Go to the forms.1
Also good to know
Henry County Superior Court has required e-filing since July 1, 2024. You can file online at any time or use the public terminals at the courthouse on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A few filings can't be e-filed and have to be brought to the courthouse, including a pauper's affidavit asking to file without paying fees.7
Free and low-cost help in Henry County
- Henry County Family Law Workshop. A free virtual workshop run by the court's ADR office for people handling their own divorce, contempt, legitimation or support modification. It covers what to file, required forms and how to get a hearing date. You need an email address and a device with video and audio. Forms are sold at the workshop for $20 a packet, money order only.
Phone: 770-288-84488 - Haven House (Flint Circuit Council on Family Violence). A state-certified family violence program in McDonough serving Henry, Butts, Lamar and Jasper counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 770-954-1008.
Phone: 770-954-92299 - 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: 833-457-752910
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.11
Henry County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Henry County Clerk of Superior Court, Filing for a Divorce: key points and court forms (henrycountyga.gov)
- ^ Henry County Superior Court, Divorce with Children packet: key points and mediation (content.civicplus.com)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, Henry County clerk (gsccca.org)
- ^ Henry County Clerk of Superior Court, civil cost schedule (henrycountyga.gov)
- ^ Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8, parenting seminars (gasupreme.us)
- ^ Henry County Superior Court, e-filing civil and domestic cases (henrycountyga.gov)
- ^ Henry County Superior Court, Family Law (henrycountyga.gov)
- ^ 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: Butts County, Clayton County, DeKalb County, Newton County and Spalding County.
Henry County also borders Rockdale County. Its clerk is listed on the Georgia page.