Georgia Divorce Procedures

Very few states in the United States recognize common law marriage and Georgia is one of them. The legal system in this state does not have any procedure to create a common law marriage, but still it is essential to declare such a marriage is dissolved. Thus, to get a divorce in this state, it is not mandatory that the couple must be married.

Commencing the Georgia Divorce Procedure

The first step is to file a Petition in the county Superior Court. This document includes the following information.

• Grounds for the divorce
• How the petitioner wishes to handle topics like alimony, child custody and property distribution

The next step is that the petition, domestic relations financial affidavit and disclosure statement are served to the Respondent. These documents are inclusive of information like the income, debts, jointly owned property and any other obligations.

The Respondent is allocated 30 days within which a Response to the petition must be filed. In the Response, the Respondent may accede to the divorce or object regarding the grounds or object regarding the terms of the divorce. In case the Respondent contests the grounds, then the court hears the proof and then on its basis makes a ruling.

Intermediate stage of Georgia Divorce Procedure

There are 3 methods by which the terms of divorce can be finalized.

• Formal mediation
• With the assistance of lawyers
• By having a consensus between the divorcing partners

In case of property distribution, the inheritances of the divorcing partners are excluded. Only the assets that are collected in marital life are bifurcated as equally as possible as the court thinks to be fair. The court has a wide discretion regarding property distribution and it considers several factors.

While making a decision regarding child support, the court keeps in mind the best interests of the child. The person who is awarded custody is offered child support on the basis of the number of children. The following percentage of the non-custodial parent’s income is considered as the child support amount.

• If there are 5 or more children, then 31 to 37 percent
• If there are 4 children, then 29 to 35 percent
• If there are 3 children, then 25 to 32 percent
• If there are 2 children, then 23 to 28 percent
• If there is 1 child, then 17 to 23 percent

When the issue of alimony arises during the divorce procedure, the court contemplates on the duration required for the party requesting alimony to become self supporting, the capacity of the parties to support self and the resources of both parties.

Final stage

While the divorce procedures are in progress, any partner can demand orders from the court pertaining to payment of current debts, child support, temporary custody and related issues. When the divorce process is complete, either through determination of the court or negotiation, the terms of the divorce are included in the formal Marital Settlement Agreement. This agreement needs to be filed in the court. This whole process is made official when the court issues a Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce.

Divorce Papers