Georgia Divorce
A Georgia divorce ends a marriage in one of two ways. Either you and your spouse agree on every term, or a judge decides the terms you cannot agree on. Almost everything about the length, cost and strain of your case follows from which path you are on.
Attorney Kip Shepherd has handled Georgia divorces for more than thirty years, including the years he spent prosecuting cases for the State. This page explains the process in the order it actually happens, and what the first meeting covers.
Contested and Uncontested Divorce
Uncontested divorce
An uncontested divorce means both spouses have agreed on every issue: how marital property and debt are divided, whether alimony will be paid, and how custody, parenting time and child support will work. A judge still reviews the settlement and signs a final decree, so it is not automatic. It is simply faster, cheaper and far less destructive to a family.
Contested divorce
A contested divorce is any case where the parties cannot agree, whether that disagreement exists from the first filing or develops months later over custody or money. Contested cases involve discovery, motions, mediation and usually a temporary hearing, and a judge or jury decides what the parties cannot. Many still settle before trial, and preparation is what makes a favorable settlement possible.
Filing, Residency and the 30-Day Clock
Georgia divorce is filed in the Superior Court of the proper county, usually where your spouse lives or where the two of you last lived together as a married couple. The petition states the grounds, the relief you are asking for, and whether minor children are involved.
Georgia also asks whether you may file here at all. You must be a bona fide resident of the state and file in the right county, or the court has no authority to act. If you recently moved to Georgia, or your spouse lives elsewhere, answer that question first.
Service of process is how your spouse learns the case exists and becomes bound by it: the sheriff, a private process server, a signed acknowledgment of service, or in limited cases publication when a spouse cannot be found after diligent effort.
Once your spouse is served, Georgia gives them 30 days to respond, and no divorce may be granted before that window closes. The clock runs from service, not from the date you separated, which surprises people who have lived apart for months.
Grounds for Divorce Under Georgia Law
Georgia allows a no-fault divorce under OCGA § 19-6-1. One spouse swears the marriage is irretrievably broken, and the court may grant the divorce without anyone proving misconduct. Most Georgia divorces are filed that way because it is simpler, faster and less expensive.
Fault-based grounds still exist and still matter in some cases, because fault can influence how a judge weighs alimony and divides marital assets. Proving fault means producing evidence, which adds time and cost. Georgia’s fault grounds include:
- Adultery
- Cruel treatment
- Desertion for a year or more
- Habitual intoxication or drug addiction
- Conviction of a felony resulting in imprisonment
- Mental incapacity at the time of the marriage
Property, Alimony and Children
Equitable Division of Marital Property
Georgia is not a community property state. Marital property is divided equitably, which means fairly rather than equally. A judge weighs each spouse’s contributions, the length of the marriage, the property and debt each person brought into it, and the economic circumstances of both parties. Retirement accounts, a business, vehicles, real estate and debt acquired during the marriage are all potentially marital.
Alimony
Georgia courts can award temporary alimony while the case is pending and permanent alimony afterward. Under OCGA § 19-6-5 the court considers the standard of living during the marriage, its length, each party’s earning capacity and assets, the age and health of each spouse, and each spouse’s contributions to the marriage. Alimony may be periodic or a lump sum, and it can be modified later if circumstances change substantially.
Child Custody and Parenting Plans
Georgia decides custody and visitation according to the best interests of the child under OCGA § 19-9-3, and requires a parenting plan covering the schedule, holidays, decision-making authority and how the parents will communicate. Legal custody is the power to make major decisions; physical custody is where the child sleeps. Judges weigh stability, each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent, the child’s needs, and any history of family violence.
Child Support
Child support is calculated under the guidelines in OCGA § 19-6-15. Both parents’ gross incomes, the number of children, health insurance, work-related childcare and the parenting time split feed into the number, and either parent may seek a deviation based on the child’s needs or other factors. Support can be modified later if income or the schedule changes substantially.
Discovery, Mediation and the Temporary Hearing
The temporary hearing comes early and matters more than most people expect. The judge decides how the two of you will live while the case is pending: who stays in the marital home, who pays the mortgage and utilities, temporary custody and parenting time, temporary child support and temporary alimony. Those rulings often set the tone for everything that follows.
Discovery is the formal exchange of information: a domestic relations financial affidavit, interrogatories, document requests and depositions. It is where hidden income and undisclosed accounts usually surface.
Most Georgia circuits require mediation before a trial date is assigned. A mediated agreement signed by both spouses can become the final decree; if mediation fails, the case goes to trial in Superior Court, where a jury may decide the disputed issues.
How Attorney Kip Shepherd Approaches a Divorce
The first meeting is about what you want, not only what happened: the parenting schedule you can live with, the assets that matter to you, and your timeline. Then you get a straight answer about what Georgia law allows, what a judge is likely to do, and what a fight would cost.
Bring any existing court orders, recent pay stubs and tax returns, and mortgage and retirement statements.
The strategy from there is practical. Protect parenting time and the assets that cannot be replaced, and do not move out of the marital home, drain joint accounts or post about the case on social media before talking it through. Kip appears regularly in the Superior Courts of Athens-Clarke County, Oconee, Gwinnett County, Barrow, Walton, Jackson and Hall counties.
If your matter involves custody, legitimation or a modification rather than a divorce, our Georgia family law page covers those in detail, and the questions clients ask most often are answered on our frequently asked questions page.
Talk Through Your Divorce Before You File
One free consultation is enough to tell you which path your case is on, what the deadlines are, and what the work would cost. Bring your documents and your questions.