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Divorce in Putnam County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Putnam County are filed with the Putnam County Superior Court. The filing fee is $208, and sheriff service is $50.
- The clerk's office at 100 S. Jefferson Avenue in Eatonton is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and handles Superior, State and Juvenile Court cases. Legal notices run in the Eatonton Messenger.1
- Besides the circuit's free packets, the clerk's online form store sells single forms, such as a $5.50 petition to restore your name after divorce, a $9.50 answer packet and a $10 annulment packet. Its pauper's affidavit, for asking to file without paying, is free.2
- The clerk's fee schedule is posted as a courtesy and can change without notice, so confirm the fee by phone before you file.3
- Putnam belongs to the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit with Baldwin, Jones, Morgan, Greene, Wilkinson, Hancock and Jasper counties, and its Superior Court judges rotate through all eight.4
Where to file
Putnam County Clerk of Superior Court
100 S. Jefferson Avenue, Suite 236
Eatonton, GA 31024
Phone: 706-485-45011
Filing fee
$208 to file. Sheriff service: $50.3
Parenting class
The Ocmulgee Circuit's March 2021 standing order ended the rule that divorcing parents must attend a parenting seminar to get a divorce, and rescinded the earlier orders that required one.5
Mediation
Georgia's official directory of court-connected mediation programs lists none serving Putnam County, and the Ocmulgee Circuit's standing order for divorce cases contains no mediation requirement.6
Court forms
The Ocmulgee Circuit posts free packets for contested and uncontested divorces, with and without minor children, plus checklists, a parenting plan, a pauper's packet for filing without paying and a service by publication packet. Go to the forms.7
Standing order
The circuit's standing order binds both spouses in every divorce, and the spouse who files must file it in the case. It bars harassing the other spouse or the children, selling or moving the couple's property outside the ordinary course of business, changing insurance without the other's written consent, taking the children out of Georgia except for ordinary family trips (with written trip details to the other parent), and changing their school or day care unless the separation makes it necessary.5
Also good to know
The circuit's Standard Orders for Parenting and default visitation schedule apply in every domestic case with children unless your own orders say otherwise. The circuit page has the full list, from the 24-hour notice of address changes to the Tuesday and Thursday evening phone calls.5
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit rules
Putnam County shares its Superior Court judges and divorce rules with Baldwin, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Jones, Morgan and Wilkinson counties. The circuit's page has the full standing order, the mediation and parenting seminar rules, and the circuit's other divorce rules.
Free and low-cost help in Putnam County
- Circle of Love Center. A state-certified family violence program based in Greensboro serving Putnam, Baldwin, Greene, Morgan and Hancock counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 706-453-7135.
Phone: 706-453-40178 - 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: 833-457-75299
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
Putnam County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, Putnam County clerk directory entry: key points and address and phone (gsccca.org)
- ^ Putnam County Clerk of Courts, form store (putnamcourtclerk.org)
- ^ Putnam County Clerk of Courts, fee schedule: key points and filing fees (putnamcourtclerk.org)
- ^ Jones County Clerk of Superior Court, the courts (jonescountyclerkofcourt.org)
- ^ Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, standing order with exhibits, March 2021 (PDF): parenting class, standing order and other court rules (eighthdistrict.org, PDF)
- ^ Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, program directory (godr.org)
- ^ Eighth Judicial Administrative District, Ocmulgee Circuit forms (eighthdistrict.org)
- ^ 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: Baldwin County and Jones County.
Putnam County also borders Greene, Hancock, Jasper and Morgan counties. Their clerks are listed on the Georgia page.