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Divorce in Spalding County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Spalding County are filed with the Spalding County Superior Court. The filing fee is $218, and sheriff service is $50 per copy served.
- The clerk's July 1, 2024 cost schedule lists $218 for a civil case, an amount that takes in a Children's Trust Fund charge applied only to divorces. Family violence petitions have no filing fee.1
- To start mediation, every domestic relations case filed in the Griffin circuit needs a Domestic Relations Initiation Form sent to the ADR office. It can be filled out online or mailed, faxed or emailed, and if you send a complete one you don't also send the screening form.2
- Spalding County is in the Griffin Judicial Circuit with Fayette, Pike and Upson counties.3
Where to file
Spalding County Clerk of State and Superior Court
132 E. Solomon Street
Griffin, GA 30223
Phone: 770-467-43094
Filing fee
$218 to file. Sheriff service: $50 per copy served.1
Parenting class
Georgia courts may require divorcing parents to attend a seminar of up to four hours. Spalding County's court pages don't list one, so ask the clerk whether it applies to your case.5
Mediation
Unless you and your spouse already have a signed agreement, a contested divorce goes to the Sixth District ADR Program for mediation before a temporary hearing. The session should happen about 30 days after the answer is filed or due, whichever comes first. It's usually held in the county where the case was filed. You can choose any mediator registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution or have the office assign one from its rotating list.6
Court forms
The Griffin Circuit Family Law Workshop site posts self-help court forms for divorce, legitimation, contempt, child support and service. You have to click "I agree" to a disclaimer before the forms open, and the site strongly recommends getting legal advice. Go to the forms.7
Also good to know
The clerk's page links to Odyssey eFileGA for e-filing. Spalding Superior Court's terms of court, the periods when it holds its regular sessions, begin the second Monday in March and September.4
Free and low-cost help in Spalding County
- Promise Place. The Fayette County Council on Domestic Violence, a state-certified family violence program serving Spalding, Fayette, Pike and Upson counties, and linked from the Spalding clerk's page. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 770-461-3839.
Phone: 770-460-16048 - Griffin Circuit Family Law Workshop. A free online evening workshop for people handling their own divorce, contempt, paternity or legitimation, or child support modification case, run jointly by the circuit's superior courts, a local bar association and the ADR Program. Everyone attending must register ahead, including anyone attending with you, children aren't allowed, and you can't join while driving or riding in a vehicle.
Phone: 770-228-37589 - Georgia Legal Services Program. May be able to help if you can't afford a lawyer. The Griffin circuit's forms page lists GLSP's Piedmont office as the one serving Fayette and Spalding counties; that office can also be reached at 800-822-5391.
Phone: 404-894-77077
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
Spalding County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Spalding County, Superior Courts of Georgia cost schedule effective July 1, 2024 (PDF): key points and filing fees (cdn.prod.website-files.com, PDF)
- ^ Sixth District ADR Program, forms (adr6th.org)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Spalding County, Clerk of Courts: address and phone and other court rules (spaldingcounty.com)
- ^ Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8, parenting seminars (gasupreme.us)
- ^ Sixth District ADR Program, FAQs (adr6th.org)
- ^ Griffin Circuit Family Law Workshop, forms and documents: court forms and local help (griffinflw.org)
- ^ Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, state-certified family violence agencies (PDF) (cjcc.georgia.gov)
- ^ Griffin Circuit Family Law Workshop (griffinflw.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, Coweta County, Fayette County and Henry County.
Spalding County also borders Lamar, Meriwether and Pike counties. Their clerks are listed on the Georgia page.