Online Divorce FAQ: Georgia
Filing for divorce can seem overwhelming. Like starting almost any other legal proceeding, it takes finding the right forms, filling out the forms properly, and understanding the court’s requirements for the next steps you’ll need to take.
Traditionally, most people have hired a lawyer to take care of all the legal matters in their divorce. But more and more couples are turning to a much cheaper option that’s still easier than figuring out everything on their own: filing for divorce online.
If you want to know more, read on for answers to some of the most common questions about online divorce in Georgia.
How Does Online Divorce Work in Georgia?
Georgia 3StepDivorce™ takes care of the divorce paperwork for you. Once you sign up for the service, you’ll answer some questions about your situation. Based on your responses to the questionnaire, Georgia 3StepDivorce™ will fill out the forms the state requires to start the divorce process, along with instructions for adding any further information that’s needed. You’ll be able to print out the forms yourself immediately or, if you prefer, get hard copies by mail.
Can I File for Divorce in Georgia?
Georgia has two basic requirements to file for divorce in the state: a residency requirement, and a legally recognized reason for ending your marriage.
What Are the Residency Requirements for Divorce in Georgia?
In order to get a Georgia divorce, either you or your spouse must have been a state resident for at least six months just before you file your divorce papers. You may also meet this residency requirement if you’ve lived on a U.S. military post for a year before the filing date. (Ga. Code § 19-5-2 (2022).)
What Are the Grounds for Divorce in Georgia?
Georgia allows you to file for divorce based on either a no-fault or fault-based legal reason (“ground”). To file for a no-fault divorce, you and your spouse simply agree that your marriage is “irretrievably broken,” meaning there’s no reasonable hope of fixing it. (Ga. Code § 19-5-3 (2022).)
When you file for a fault-based divorce in Georgia, you must claim that your marriage is ending because of your spouse’s misconduct, such as adultery, cruel treatment, desertion, or addiction. Because you’ll have to prove that claim, fault-based divorces almost always cost more and take longer to resolve—without any advantage in the vast majority of cases.
That’s why most divorcing couples in Georgia file for divorce based on incompatibility.
Do I Need a Lawyer to File for Divorce in Georgia?
Many Georgia residents are finding that they can file for divorce and get through the process without the expense of hiring a lawyer if they’re filing for an “uncontested divorce” in the state. That means that they’ve agreed with each other about all of the legal issues in their divorce, including:
If you still have disagreements with your spouse about these or any other issues involved in ending your marriage, you’ll have to file for a traditional, contested divorce. Because that will involve legal battles and presenting evidence and arguments at court hearings, it would be risky to pursue a contested divorce without a lawyer to navigate the process for you—especially if your spouse has an attorney.
Can I Use Georgia 3StepDivorce™ in My Situation?
You may use Georgia 3StepDivorce™ as long as:
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you meet the state’s residency requirement
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you and your spouse agree that your marriage is irretrievably broken,and
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you have an uncontested divorce.
You’ll need to have a written marital settlement agreement (sometimes called a “property settlement agreement), signed by both you and your spouse, that covers all of the issues in your divorce. Georgia 3StepDivorce™ will guide you through the process of creating this agreement, based on your answers to the questionnaire.
Georgia 3StepDivorce™ can also help if you aren’t ready to file for divorce, but you want a separation agreement with your spouse. For instance, you might want to work out arrangements for support, custody of your children, who has to move out of the family home, and how to take care of the bills while you’re separated but still legally married.
What If My Spouse and I Can’t Agree on the Issues in Our Divorce?
Just because you haven’t been able to agree with your spouse about everything in your divorce, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go through an expensive and time-consuming contested divorce. You could try divorce mediation. If you’re able to resolve your disagreements with the mediator’s help, you can then use Georgia 3StepDivorce™ to prepare the written settlement agreement, along with the other divorce paperwork.
Can I Get an Online Divorce in Georgia If I Have Children?
Generally, you can use Georgia 3StepDivorce™ even when you have minor children with your spouse, as long as you agree on all of the issues related to your kids, including legal and physical custody, a parenting (visitation) schedule, child support, health and dental insurance, and tax deductions. Georgia 3StepDivorce™ will allow you to address these issues in your settlement agreement. We provide a standard parenting schedule, but you’ll have an option of customizing the schedule to meet your individual needs.
However, you won’t be able to address custody-related issues with Georgia 3StepDivorce™ if the affected child or children don’t meet the “home state” requirement. Usually, that means the child must have lived in Georgia with a parent (or a parent figure) during the entire six-month period before you file for divorce (or since birth if the child is younger than six months old). If you don’t meet the six-month rule, you should speak with an attorney to find out whether you might qualify for one of the complicated exceptions to this rule. (Ga. Code §§ 19-9-41(7), 19-9-61 (2022).)
How Will My Online Divorce in Georgia Deal With Child Support?
In Georgia, both parents have an obligation to support their children. And like all states, Georgia has child support guidelines for calculating how much support the parents should pay, based largely on their incomes and custody arrangements.
3StepDivorce™ provides the Georgia Child Support Guideline Worksheets, so you can easily calculate the state's guideline level of support. You and your spouse may agree to an amount of child support that differs from the guideline amount, but your agreement must spell out the justification for the difference, based on the circumstances. The judge will need to review your agreement to make sure the amount of support is adequate and meets your child(ren)’s best interests. (Ga. Code § 19-6-15(c)(6) (2022).)
In your settlement agreement, you and your spouse may include child support provisions that aren’t legally required, such as a parent’s contributions to private school tuition or the cost of a child’s college education. You may also agree on some specific questions like which parent will claim the children as dependents on tax returns.
Will We Be Able to Change the Amount of Child Support After Divorce?
After your divorce in Georgia is final, you (or your spouse) may request a change in the amount of child support, but you’ll need to show that there has been a substantial change in either parent’s financial status or the child’s needs. Generally, you may not request a modification within two years of the previous support order unless one parent has lost income involuntarily, or there have been certain differences in actual visitation compared to the original order. The judge will review your request based on the same legal requirements for an original child support order. (Ga. Code § 19-6-15(k) (2022).)
If you want to save the time and expense of a court battle over a request to modify child support, you and your spouse may agree to a modification on your own. However, a judge will need to review your agreement under the same legal standards that apply to an original child support order.
You may be able to get a review of your child support order by the Georgia Division of Child Support Services (DCSS). Based on its review, the agency may then recommend that support be increased or decreased.
How Will Online Divorce Handle Property and Debts From Our Marriage?
When you fill out your questionnaire for Georgia 3StepDivorce™, you’ll answer a series of questions about your separate and marital property and debts, including how you’ll divide your marital property and allocate responsibility for payment of the marital debts.
What About the Family Home?
If you own a home with your spouse, your agreement can spell out what will happen to it when you get divorced. Here again, the questionnaire will include a few questions about the property and how you’ve chosen to deal with it, such as:
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selling the house and splitting the proceeds
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transferring ownership to one spouse, with the other spouse receiving money or other assets in exchange for that spouse’s share, or
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continuing to own the property together while allowing one spouse to stay in the house for a period of time (and, if so, how you’ll handle paying the mortgage and other ongoing costs).
What About Retirement Accounts?
In your Georgia 3StepDivorce™, you may also agree on whether and how you’ll divide any retirement accounts that you and your spouse have, including 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and defined-benefit pensions.
If you started contributing to the retirement plan before you were married, you’ll start by figuring out how much of its current value is marital property and how much is your separate property. There are experts and firms that will do this for you (for a fee, of course). The service is usually known as a pension appraisal or valuation. You’ll almost always need this kind of expert help when you’re dealing with a defined-benefit pension.
Once you know the marital value of your work-related retirement accounts, the easiest way to handle the division of the assets is not to split them but to transfer other assets as an offset. Here’s how that works: Say you have a 401(k) through your job, and the marital portion of the account is worth $100,000. If you and your spouse agree to divide that portion down the middle, and you have other marital assets to divide (such as a regular savings account), your spouse could receive an extra $50,000 from those assets while you keep the entire 401(k). That way, you don’t have to hire another expert to prepare the kind of special order that’s needed to tell the 401(k) administrator how to divide the account.
The rules are different for IRAs. You may simply agree to have your spouse’s share transferred to another IRA account in that spouse’s name. (You’ll have to submit a special form to the bank, along with a copy of your divorce decree.)
Can I Get Alimony With an Online Divorce in Georgia?
You and your spouse may waive any right to alimony in your Georgia divorce, or you may agree on the specifics of alimony payments: who will pay, how much, and for how long. Your agreement may also state whether a court could modify alimony at any time in the future, and it could cover related issues like health insurance and life insurance.
How Do I File My Divorce Papers in Georgia?
When you get your completed forms with Georgia 3StepDivorce™, your next step will be to file the divorce papers with the superior court clerk’s office in the county where:
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your spouse lives, or
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you live, but only if your spouse lives out of state or moved within the previous six months from the county where the two of you lived together (and you still live there).
(Ga. Const., Art. VI, Sec. II, Par. 1.)
Some counties in Georgia require you to file your divorce paperwork online (even when you're representing yourself), so check with the court clerk's office in the county where you’ll be filing to find out the local requirements.
How Much Is Georgia’s Filing Fee for Divorce?
The fees to file for divorce vary somewhat from county to county in Georgia, but they’re usually a little over $200 (or more if you need to have a sheriff deliver the papers to your spouse). If you’re filing your papers electronically, there will be an extra fee for that service. Check with the court clerk’s office (or website) to learn what the fees are in the county where you’ll file your divorce papers, and the methods of payment they’ll accept.
What If I Can’t Afford to Pay the Divorce Filing Fee?
If you can’t afford the filing fee, you may apply for a waiver. You’ll need to file a written request (or “motion”) and affidavit (sometimes called an affidavit of poverty), along with proof of your income. Check with the court clerk’s office for information about applying in the county where you’re filing your divorce papers.
How Long Does an Uncontested Divorce Take in Georgia?
If both you and your spouse consent, you may file a motion to finalize your uncontested divorce any time after 31 days from the date you filed your spouse’s “Acknowledgment of Service” (agreeing to accept the divorce papers from you) or since a sheriff served the papers on your spouse. (Ga. Code § 19-5-3(13); Ga. Uniform Sup. Ct. Rules, rule 24.6 (2022).)
It often takes longer than 31 days—typically 45 days to a couple of months—before the judge signs your final divorce decree, depending on the court’s schedule and whether you’ll need to schedule a court hearing in the county where you’re getting divorced.
How Can I Get More Help With Georgia Online Divorce?
Georgia 3StepDivorce™ provides unlimited, live, person-to-person support for customers. If you have any questions about how uncontested divorce works, call our Georgia Divorce Online Help Center at (888) 665-6782 (toll free), Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm (Pacific Time).
Please keep in mind that we are not lawyers and so cannot give out legal advice. If you have questions about Georgia law or need legal advice, we recommend that you contact an experienced family law attorney in your area.
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