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Divorce in Newton County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Newton County are filed with the Newton County Superior Court. The filing fee is $213, and sheriff service is $50 per summons served by the sheriff.
Newton County shares the Alcovy Judicial Circuit with Walton County.[1] The clerk doesn't take personal checks for filing fees. Make the check for the filing fee and local sheriff's service payable to the Clerk of Newton County Superior Court; out-of-county service and any newspaper publication are paid by separate checks.[2]
Where to file
Newton County Clerk of Courts
Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. Judicial Center, 1132 Usher Street, Room 338
Covington, GA 30014
Phone: 770-784-2035[3]
Filing fee
$213 to file. Sheriff service: $50 per summons served by the sheriff.[2]
Parenting class
Divorcing parents in the Alcovy Circuit must attend the circuit's program for divorcing parents, a 30-minute video followed by a 90-minute presentation. You register in advance by calling 770-267-1343, and each spouse is scheduled for a different session. It costs $35, paid at the class in cash or by money order. A parent who lives outside Georgia can take an online course instead with the court's permission and file its certificate. Skipping it can delay the case, bring sanctions or affect visitation.[4]
Mediation
Newton County's courts use the Tenth Judicial District ADR Program, which the Alcovy Circuit joined in 2000. A divorce can be sent to mediation by the assigned judge's order, on the program director's recommendation, or when the spouses or their lawyers ask. The sessions are run by trained, registered mediators, and in Superior Court cases the spouses pay the mediator.[5]
Court forms
The Alcovy Circuit posts divorce form packets, with and without minor children, behind a disclaimer you have to accept, plus a request for hearing form and a fee waiver affidavit. Go to the forms.[6]
Also good to know
The clerk's office doesn't supply legal forms or answer questions about procedure. Your case number and assigned judge are issued after you file; the clerk asks you to call 770-784-2035 the day after filing to get them. Once your spouse has been served and the 30 days to answer have passed, you file a Request for Hearing form, and the assigned judge's office sets the date.[7]
Free and low-cost help in Newton County
- Project ReNeWal. A state-certified family violence program with a Conyers mailing address, serving Newton, Rockdale and Walton counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 770-860-9770.
Phone: 770-860-1666[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]
Newton County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Newton County Clerk of Courts, costs and filing fees: key points and filing fees (alcovycircuit.com)
- ^ Newton County Clerk of Courts, contact (alcovycircuit.com)
- ^ Alcovy Judicial Circuit, divorcing parents seminar (alcovycircuit.com)
- ^ Tenth District ADR Program, history and how cases are referred (accgov.com)
- ^ Alcovy Judicial Circuit, forms (alcovycircuit.com)
- ^ Newton County Clerk of Superior Court, notice to pro se litigants (alcovycircuit.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 (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.