Below are some general steps that will generally take place during criminal prosecution. This is provided as a general guideline to help you understand the process. Each individual case is different and Sherri Kelley will explain the necessary steps in your case.
With an uncontested divorce you and your spouse have agreed and have resolved the issues that are within your divorce and we do not plan to go to court for contested issues.
1) The first step is to prepare a complaint for divorce, which is a very simple document that merely puts the other party on notice of the issues that are in the divorce;
2) We then will prepare an acknowledgment service for your spouse to sign so therefore that will waive the need for the sheriff to come out and serve papers;
3) We will then prepare an agreement to try which will allow the court to execute and grant the divorce after a period of 31 days has passed from the initial filing of all of the paperwork;
4) The next step is the most time consuming in which we will prepare the settlement agreement, which will fully set out all the issues and responsibilities as you and your spouse have agreed to. Once this document is prepared, you will review this document and if it is accurate, both parties will sign the document in front of a notary. There is a notary on staff at my office for your convenience so you and your spouse can to sign the documentation here or you can choose to sign it elsewhere if you so choose. With an uncontested divorce, we do allow two changes to the agreement without making any charges or additional billings to your account; and
5) Once all the documents are signed and filed in a courthouse, that will begin the 31 days running for the time for the divorce to be granted. In Douglas County, Carroll and Paulding County, when you have an attorney filing an uncontested divorce, you can get your divorce granted without appearing before the Judge. After the 31 days has passed, we will file a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings with the Final Judgment and Decree and ask the court to execute the document pursuant to the settlement being approved by the court. Once the court signs the Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce, that is the actual date at which you will be divorced. We will then receive that in our office, make a copy, and mail it to you for your records.
If minor children are involved, you are required to attend the parenting seminar for parents who are divorcing with minor children. Each county has a class and you can contact the Clerk of Superior Court for the phone number and the times of the seminar. The seminar is relatively inexpensive and is a required step prior to the divorce being granted. Parents do not have to attend this seminar together but both parents are required to take the course. To ensure that there is proper documentation to the court, when you take the class, you will provide that organization with your case information and they will send certificate directly to the court. Just to be on the safe side, I do request that you obtain a second copy of that certificate and have that brought to our office so therefore we can document our file just in case there is some issue about the organization not sending the certificate directly to the court.