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Divorce in Lowndes County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Lowndes County are filed with the Lowndes County Superior Court. The filing fee is $218, and sheriff service is $50 in Lowndes County.
Lowndes County is part of the Southern Judicial Circuit, along with Brooks, Colquitt, Echols and Thomas counties.[1] Parents of children under 18 have to finish the circuit's parenting seminar within 45 days after service.[2]
Where to file
Lowndes County Clerk of Superior, State and Juvenile Courts
Lowndes County Judicial Complex, 327 N. Ashley Street, 1st Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601
Phone: 229-333-5127[3]
Filing fee
$218 to file. Sheriff service: $50 in Lowndes County.[4]
Parenting class
In any case involving children under 18, both parents must complete the "In the Best Interest of the Children" seminar, or a similar program the court approves, within 45 days after the other spouse is served or files an acknowledgment of service.[2]
Mediation
Under the circuit's ADR rules, a contested divorce or other family case that's still pending 150 days after it was filed is referred to mediation, and the judge can refer it sooner or the spouses can ask. Family cases are screened for domestic violence first, and cases filed only under the Family Violence Act aren't sent to mediation. The spouses split the mediator's fees equally unless the judge orders otherwise.[5]
Court forms
The circuit posts divorce packets for cases with and without minor children, contested or uncontested, with filing instructions and a page on which packet you need. Go to the forms.[6]
Standing order
A standing order signed November 4, 2022 takes effect when the divorce is filed and lasts until a temporary order is entered, the order is extended, or 60 days pass, whichever comes first. Without the other parent's written agreement or a court order, neither parent may pull the children out of school or day care, hide them or change where they live, talk about the case with or around them, make negative remarks about the other parent in front of them, or block their phone contact with the other parent. Neither spouse may cancel insurance, utilities or the other's cell phone, change beneficiaries, or hide or waste money in marital accounts, though normal spending and paying a lawyer are allowed. The court expects both spouses to keep paying the household bills as before and to keep up any support one spouse has historically provided the other.[2]
Also good to know
The circuit has required a parenting seminar since 1997 in divorce, separate maintenance, paternity, custody, visitation and legitimation cases involving children under 18. A fee waiver application is available, and questions about classes go to 229-563-6439. The circuit also lists a separate program for military families through Moody Air Force Base.[7]
Free and low-cost help in Lowndes County
- The Haven. A state-certified family violence program in Valdosta serving Lowndes and eight nearby counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 229-241-7047.
Phone: 229-244-1765[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]
Lowndes County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ 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): key points, parenting class and standing order (southernjudicialcircuit.com, PDF)
- ^ Lowndes County Superior Court, clerk contact (lowndescounty.com)
- ^ Lowndes County Clerk of Courts, self-help sheet for pro se parties (lowndescounty.com)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, local ADR program rules (PDF) (southernjudicialcircuit.com, PDF)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, self-help family law forms (southernjudicialcircuit.com)
- ^ Southern Judicial Circuit, program for parents on the effects of divorce on children (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 (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.