Having decided to terminate the marriage, you will need to prepare Georgia divorce papers for filing with the court. You can complete them independently, hire an attorney, or use an online service.
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ToggleInvolving a legal representative is the most expensive option, and thousands can be spent on their assistance. Therefore, to save money, many couples decide to download free divorce forms and fill them out on their own. Many forms are available on the official court websites. However, searching for a list of required paperwork and each specific form can take a lot of time. Filling them out can also be complicated due to the legal terminology involved. Besides, any mistakes in documents will lead to court rejection.
Alternatively, you can use an online document preparation service to complete uncontested divorce forms reliably and cost-effectively. You will receive a set of divorce papers in just a few days, being able to prepare for filing with the court cheaply and quickly.
If you are interested in what paperwork you may need, here is a basic list of divorce documents with a brief description.
Complaint for Divorce
In Georgia, a Complaint is a document that a plaintiff fills out and files with the court to start a lawsuit. There are two forms: one for cases with children involved and one for divorces without kids.
In it, the petitioner must indicate the date of marriage and separation, compliance with residency requirements, requests to the judge regarding divorce terms, etc. If children under 18 are involved, the plaintiff must also provide all the required information about them.
Summons
A Summons is used to notify a defendant about the start of the dissolution process and the time they have to file an answer to the Complaint; in Georgia, it is 30 days.
The petitioner must fill in their and the respondent’s personal data and submit the Summons with other documents to the court. The clerk must assign a civil action number to the case, indicate it at the top of the form, and sign the document.
Verification
Verification is a form that serves as confirmation under oath that all the facts stated in the Complaint are true; it must be completed by the plaintiff and filed with the clerk’s office. In it, the petitioner must fill in the names of both spouses and sign it in front of a notary public. It also contains the date of the notary’s signature and the civil case number.
Consent to Trial
Spouses use this form in uncontested cases to express their agreement to waive their right to trial by jury. By signing it, they consent to the hearing at any time 31 days after the defendant is served with divorce papers or an Acknowledgment of Service and Summons is filed with the court.
The Consent to Trial must be signed by the petitioner and the respondent and notarized. The notary must certify the signatures of the parties and date the document.
Settlement Agreement
This document is filled out in uncontested dissolutions, provided that spouses have agreed to the divorce terms and have no disputes regarding child-related or property division issues.
In it, parties indicate their arrangements regarding alimony, distribution of property and debts, etc. The Settlement Agreement for cases involving children includes additional items related to child custody and support, visitation schedule, and more.
The form must be signed by both spouses in front of a notary public.
Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit of Plaintiff
In Georgia, a Plaintiff’s Financial Affidavit form must be completed for any case related to alimony, property division, child support, etc. It must contain data on kids for whom the amount of support must be determined and information on the affiant’s income, needs, debts, assets, and liabilities. Additionally, it lists the petitioner’s expenses for household maintenance, upbringing, education of children, etc.
The petitioner should fill out the form and sign it in front of a notary public.
Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit of Defendant
The defendant in a divorce case must complete the same Financial Affidavit form if child support or alimony issues are to be resolved in the proceeding. In it, they must indicate the names of their children, their ages, and places of residence, along with information about the date of marriage and separation. They must also list their income and expenses, assets and liabilities, insurance, and payments to creditors. Like the previous one, this form must be notarized.
Report of Divorce, Annulment or Dissolution of Marriage
It provides basic information about the parties, their children, grounds for divorce, the civil action number, and the date the decree was granted. It should be prepared by the plaintiff or by a legal representative if the petitioner hires a lawyer. The Report of Divorce form should be sent by the county clerk to the department no later than the 10th day of the calendar month following the divorce.
Domestic Relations Case Filing Information Form
The petitioner fills out this document to inform the court of the type of case they are filing. They should indicate their and the defendant’s personal data along with information about the legal representative, if any. Then, they should specify what issues the claim is about; it can be divorce, separate maintenance, adoption, etc. If the case involves modifying a judgment related to child support and custody or contempt of court, they should check the appropriate box.
Mandatory Seminar Notice
The Seminar Notice form is used to notify the defendant of the need to attend parenting classes in cases involving minor children. Only the top of the document should be filled in; it includes information about the plaintiff and the defendant and the civil case number. The text of the notice states that the parties cannot ask the court to grant a divorce before completing the seminar. Both spouses must attend it to finalize the process and obtain a dissolution of marriage.
Child Support Worksheets
This form is used to determine the child support obligations for each parent. Worksheets should include information about parents and their minor children, parental gross income, and expenses of both spouses on their kids. In addition, this form contains a table of correspondence of the amount of child support to the number of children and the income of the parents. When filling it out, spouses must determine the minimum amount of child support according to the table.
Parenting plan
A Parenting Plan is a document filled out by the plaintiff but signed by both parties at the bottom of the form. In it, the parties describe their child custody and visitation arrangements. The parties must specify who will make important and daily decisions regarding their children’s lives, where the kids will spend vacations and holidays, who will be the primary custodian, how each of them will contact the children, etc. The document must be signed in front of a notary public.
Final Order
There are several Final Order forms in Georgia; they are case-specific documents and can be issued by a judge after consideration of a petition submitted by either party. A Final Order on Motion for Contempt is used when the defendant is accused of contempt of court; it determines what punishment or obligation the respondent will receive. A Final Order for Child Support Modification is issued by the court after reviewing the request for modification of the child support amount and duration.
Affidavit of Poverty
A petitioner can fill out an Affidavit of Poverty to ask the court to avoid paying mandatory filing fees due to a difficult financial situation. To obtain the judge’s permission to waive the court costs, the plaintiff must indicate their income level, describe their living conditions, and list their monthly bills. The completed form must be signed in the presence of a notary public. At the end of the document, the petitioner must specify their residential address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
A plaintiff in a divorce completes and files this form with the clerk’s office to notify the court of the dates of submitting the Complaint and Settlement Agreement and of serving the defendant or filing the Acknowledgment of Service form. In it, the petitioner also specifies that there are no contested issues left and asks for a judgment on the pleadings. The filled-in document should not be signed in front of a notary public; the plaintiff’s signature is sufficient.
Final Judgment and Decree
This is the final document the judge signs when granting a marriage dissolution and determining the divorce terms. It is completed by the plaintiff except for the fields that must be filled in by the judge. There are two forms of the Final Decree: one designed for cases without kids and the other intended for divorces with children under 18. Typically, it is more extensive; it includes information regarding the judge’s decisions on property division, child-related issues, and others.
Final Disposition
The Final Disposition form must be completed by the plaintiff and filed with the clerk’s office. In it, the petitioner must indicate the names of the parties, the reporting spouse, and their lawyers, if any, or state that they are self-represented. They must then specify their manner of disposition by ticking one of the boxes and answer the three questions below. Manner of disposition definitions are presented at the beginning of the form so that the reporting party can define it independently.
Download Fillable PDF Forms
To file for divorce in Georgia for free, you should find and complete the required papers yourself. To prepare for your marriage dissolution, you can use the following examples of Georgia divorce forms in PDF format.
- Complaint for Divorce (With Children)
- Complaint for Divorce (Without Children)
- Summons
- Verification
- Consent to Trial 31 Days After Service and Waiver of Right to Trial by Jury
- Acknowledgment of Service and Summons
- Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service Affidavit of Waiver of Venue and Personal Jurisdiction
- Settlement Agreement (With Children)
- Settlement Agreement (Without Children)
- Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit of Plaintiff
- Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit of Defendant
- Mandatory Seminar Notice
- Final Judgment and Decree (With Children)
- Final Judgment and Decree (Without Children)
- Report of Divorce, Annulment or Dissolution of Marriage
- These are only some of the samples of documents you will have to prepare for divorce.
- You may need other case-specific forms depending on the circumstances.
- We offer an up-to-date set of documents required for your case.
- We guarantee that our forms are court-approved.
- We provide 24/7 customer support, and filing instructions are included in the paperwork.
Or Get Complete Set of Georgia Divorce Papers Online
Please note that the above list is not final, and you may need other forms to file with the court. To ensure the paperwork for your uncontested case is in order, you can use a document preparation service and complete Georgia online divorce forms with less stress and effort. Using our platform, you can prepare for an uncontested divorce cheaply and efficiently and get up-to-date and court-approved printable divorce papers in just a few business days.