Home › Georgia › Murray County
Divorce in Murray County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Murray County are filed with the Murray 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 at 121 N. Third Avenue in Chatsworth is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Legal notices run in The Chatsworth Times.1
- Parents of children under 18 take a four-hour divorcing parents seminar run by the Family Support Council in Dalton (706-272-7919). It costs $100, paid when you register. You can register and pay at its office, 1529 Waring Road, Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.2
- Murray and Whitfield counties make up the Conasauga Judicial Circuit. Its four judges sit in both counties, its administrative offices are in Dalton, and it has run a Domestic Violence Court since 2014.3
Where to file
Murray County Clerk of Superior Court
121 N. Third Avenue
Chatsworth, GA 30705
Phone: 706-695-29324
Filing fee
The clerk doesn't post its divorce filing fee or sheriff service fee online, so call the clerk at 706-695-2932 before you file. Mail goes to P.O. Box 1000, Chatsworth, GA 30705. For comparison, Georgia counties that post their fee charge between $208 and $224 to file a divorce. Compare counties.1
Parenting class
In a divorce or other family case involving children under 18, every party must complete the circuit's Seminar for Divorcing Parents. Each party registers and pays within 31 days after the defendant is served, then attends the next available session. A judge can waive the seminar for good cause, and a party who doesn't complete it can be held in contempt. When a final order is entered on the pleadings, the lawyer certifies that both parties attended.5
Mediation
Contested divorce and other family cases in Whitfield and Murray counties are referred to mediation. Unless the court orders otherwise, the first session is held within 60 days after the case is filed. Within 10 days of the referral, you tell the circuit's ADR office (706-278-5897) who your mediator is and when you'll meet. You choose a mediator from the circuit's roster, or the office appoints one, and you and your spouse pay the mediator. Roster mediators must give some free or reduced-rate hours to people who can't afford the fee. Cases filed only under the Family Violence Act aren't mediated. Every family case is screened to decide whether mediation is appropriate, and a case involving domestic violence is mediated only if the at-risk spouse agrees. A case where every issue is settled by a written agreement signed by both spouses and filed with the court isn't referred unless both of you ask or the judge orders it. A judge can hold off on the final order until the mediator has been paid.6
Court forms
The Murray clerk posts local forms, including the domestic case filing and final disposition forms, a summons, a sheriff's entry of service, an answer and counterclaim, a parenting plan and an order of publication. Go to the forms.7
Also good to know
When custody is contested, each parent serves a proposed permanent parenting plan on the other at least 10 days before the final hearing, and a proposed temporary plan at least 5 days before a temporary hearing. Proposed plans also go to the mediator 5 days before mediation. If you agree on a plan, file it by the final hearing date or include it in the proposed final order.8
Free and low-cost help in Murray County
- Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center. A state-certified family violence program in Dalton serving Murray, Whitfield and Gordon counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 706-278-6595.
Phone: 706-278-55869 - 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
Murray County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, Murray County clerk directory entry: key points and filing fees (gsccca.org)
- ^ Conasauga Judicial Circuit, Divorcing Parents Seminar (whitfieldcountyga.com)
- ^ Murray County, Superior Court (murraycountyga.org)
- ^ Murray County, Clerk of Superior Court (murraycountyga.org)
- ^ Conasauga Judicial Circuit, Divorcing Parents Seminar rules, revised February 2022 (whitfieldcountyga.com, PDF)
- ^ Conasauga Judicial Circuit, alternative dispute resolution procedures, amended February 2022 (whitfieldcountyga.com, PDF)
- ^ Murray County Clerk of Superior Court, local forms (murraycountyga.org)
- ^ Conasauga Judicial Circuit, circuit procedures and standing orders (whitfieldcountyga.com, PDF)
- ^ 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: Gordon County and Whitfield County.
Murray County also borders Fannin and Gilmer counties. Their clerks are listed on the Georgia page.