Georgia Divorce Legal Questions

No such procedure in Georgia. If you are common law married, which is unlikely, you have to go through the normal divorce procedure. You may want to speak to a lawyer about if you are even married. Common law marriage was abandoned in Georgia many years ago (1997), but if you were common law married at the time the law was changed, your marriage is grandfathered in. ... Read More

This is more of a question of probate or estate administration. Your answer starts with determining if the spouse had a will or not. If they had a will, that document may make distributions that would still be valid despite the separation and may leave the surviving spouse with something or cut them out. If they did not have a will, it is possible that the surviving spouse could receive a portion of the estate under several theories of recovery. Because Georgia does not recognize the idea of legal separation, the surviving spouses rights likely remain intact. ... Read More

You can retain the serivces of an attorney to handle your divorce in Georgia. An experienced attorney would know how to proceed with filing your divorce in the County in which you reside. And your divorce could be finalized in a fairly short period of time. Consult an experienced attorney on this matter.... Read More

It would be hard to proceed against the lawyer for anything. You were technically not served because as you said he's not a process server - its not like he was pretending to be one. You were provided notice that a complaint was filed against you and anyone can provide you notice of a complaint. Had you not shown up to the hearing, they would have likely been ordered by the judge to hire a process server to officially serve you. But you showed up to the hearing. At the hearing you should have complained to the judge and the judge would have likely scolded the attorney as this is a common practice amongst small law firms, it is not the proper way to do things.  This post is not legal advice and no attorney client relationship has been created. You are always best advised to present these facts to an attorney who can then best advise you as to your potential claims.... Read More

Marital property is always subject to equitable distribution. So to the extent there is marital property, it needs to be fairly divided. What you are facing is a typical situation. Your wife wants you to quickly sign for two reasons. 1. the agreement likely takes advantage of you in some way and 2. it will be cheaper for her.  Do not sign anything until you have had an attorney review it. Most attorneys will want to charge you a small fee to review the document and give you some advice. It may be that the document is fine, but you need an attorney! Go to the lawyers.com directory and find an attorney in the city near you live that offers free consultations. Bring the document with you and see what they say. Don't sign until then!... Read More

The Decree should have a line in it that states that you retain the right to custody in the event of your ex-wife's death - or something along those lines. Even if it doesn't and unless custody has been awarded to a third party by a court, you automatically become the primary custodian of your child. If there is a third party that is claiming custody, that person would have to file something with the court to exercise custody. Absent any court ruling you now have full custody. ... Read More

Your question raises alot of issues.  I highly recommend that you consult with an attorney.  If your husband is the bread-winner of your family, a divorce attorney can help you to obtain temporary support so that you can afford to take care of yourself, your children and attorney fees.  This can be accomplished through a petition for separate maintenance or divorce. Shalamar J. Parham Atlanta Divorce Attorney... Read More

Where you need to file depends on what court has jurisdiction.  Subject matter jurisdiction is the power of the court to enter an enforceable order regarding the issues in a divorce. Georgia courts have subject matter jurisdiction when one of the parties has been a resident of the state of Georgia for at least six months at the time of the filing of the complaint (the document to initiate a divorce action).    In Georgia, the court must also have jurisdiction over the person.  As such, you usually need to file in the county where your spouse resides.  If your spouse does not live in the same county as you, but will consent to the jurisdiction of your county's court, you should be able to file in the county you live in.... Read More

Many counties in Georgia have some sort of family/domestic law information center at the courthouse to assist people who wish to represent themselves in domestic legal matters or educate themselves about domestic issues.  Further, many counties, like Fulton County, have a family law center and have much of the necessary information/forms online.    (See: http://famdiv.fultoncourt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=27)   I would suggest that you start by checking your local county’s court system.  Alternatively, the Fulton County information and forms can be used in your county; you would simply need to change the county name.   If you are uncomfortable going through the process on your own, there are other organizations that provide legal representation, education and advocacy for at-risk or low income individuals.  For example, other resources include:   Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation http://www.avlf.org/    Atlanta Legal Aid Society http://www.atlantalegalaid.org/   LegalAid-GA http://www.legalaid-ga.org/GA/index.cfm   Georgia Legal Services Program http://www.glsp.org/... Read More

If you are filing, you are the Plaintiff and he is the Respondent.  Generally, you have to file where the Respondent lives for the court to have jurisdiction over that person.   In order to file for a divorce in Georgia, residency requirements must be met for the court to accept the case.  The requirements are as follows:    No court shall grant a divorce to any person who has not been a bona fide resident of this state for six months before the filing of the petition for divorce, provided that any person who has been a resident of any United States army post or military reservation within this state for one year next preceding the filing of the petition may bring an action for divorce in any county adjacent to the United States army post or military reservation; and provided, further, that a nonresident of this state may file a petition for divorce, in the county of residence of the respondent, against any person who has been a resident of this state and of the county in which the action is brought for a period of six months prior to the filing of the petition. (OCGA § 19-5-5)   For a Georgia court to grant you a divorce, the court must have jurisdiction to do so.  If the court discovers it does not have jurisdictional rights to hear the case, it will not be accepted or it will eventually be dismissed.  In divorce cases, Georgia courts have subject matter jurisdiction when one of the parties has been a resident of the state of Georgia for at least six months.  However, the six months' residence must exist at the time of the filing of the complaint.   (Personal jurisdiction is not required to grant a divorce.  The court has "in rem" jurisdiction over the marriages of residents of the state. The court must, however, have personal jurisdiction over the defendant if financial relief is to be granted, i.e. child support, division of property, alimony, etc.)  Basically, you must have actually lived in Georgia for six months prior to filing for the court to have jurisdiction.   If he is amenable to the divorce, you can ask him to waive jurisdictional issues and submit to the jurisdiction of the Georgia court.  Otherwise, you will need to file in the sate he lives in.... Read More

Although the law allows every citizen to represent himself in court proceedings, it is not a wise thing to do especially in an uncontested divorce. You need to employ the services of a competent family law attorney to advise you in the matter. I cannot tell from your question whether you are the husband or the wife, whether you have minor children, or the nature of your financial status and assets. These things and many other factors can raise complicated legal issues that I suspect neither party is competent to handle. E.g., application of the child support guidelines, custody and visitation and parenting plans, application of the new laws and regulations regarding income withholding orders, and the equitable division of your marital property just to name a few. It is better to spend the time and money now to get it done correctly. If you do not, you run the risk of greater frustration and expense later.... Read More