Divorce Case Timeline
Stage 1: Initial Filing and Response
1. Filing the Petition for Divorce
The divorce petition (or “Complaint for Divorce”) is a legal document filed with the Court (a “pleading”) which officially starts the divorce process. In Georgia, divorce cases are filed in the Superior Court of the County with appropriate jurisdiction over the case. If you are the spouse initially filing for divorce, you are considered “the Plaintiff” (sometimes called “the Petitioner”).
Contents of the Petition: Identifies both spouses and any children of the marriage, outlines the grounds for divorce, and includes requests regarding property division, spousal support, child custody and child support and any other relevant issues.
2. Serving the Petition
After filing the Petition, the document must be legally served on your spouse to notify him/her of the divorce proceeding. This can be done in-person by a certified, process server or by a county sheriff. In this scenario, the individual would physically locate your spouse and hand the documents directly to him or her. Service can also be completed in a less formal (and frankly, less antagonistic) manner by having your spouse acknowledge service. To do so, your spouse signs (and has notarized) a pleading drafted by your attorney which states your spouse acknowledges he/she has received copies of the divorce pleadings. In this scenario, your attorney has typically already emailed or mailed the documents to your spouse.
3. Filing of Response and Counter-Petition
The spouse receiving the Petition (considered“the Defendant” or sometimes, “the Respondent”) must file a written response, addressing the claims and demands made in the Petition. Your spouse may also file a counter-petition with their own specific demands/requests.
Contents of the Response: Agreement or disagreement with the initial petition’s terms and additional requests or claims.
Response Time: The served spouse has 30 days to respond to the Petition after being served.
Stage 2: Temporary Issues and
Mandatory Disclosures
1. Assessment of Temporary Issues
If immediate issues need to be addressed while the divorce is pending final resolution, such as temporary child custody arrangements, temporary support payments or exclusive use of the marital home, either party can seek a temporary order from the Court. Not all cases need a temporary order. When parties are amicable and in agreement about how they are each going to proceed forward while the case is pending, there is no need for a formal order detailing same. However, in more contentious or complex cases, temporary orders are necessary to establish financial support obligations, maintain stability for the children by creating a defined parenting-time schedule or addressing other pressing or urgent needs.
If your case has temporary issues that need to be addressed, you do not necessarily have to go to Court to get relief. Temporary issues be negotiated and addressed by agreement between the parties and their counsel. In that instance, a Consent Temporary Order is presented to the Court, which outlines in writing each of the parties’ respective duties and responsibilities during the pendency of the case. Once signed by the judge, this agreement is now a binding court-order. In more contentious cases, settlement of temporary issues may be difficult or even impossible. In that instance, the parties (or one party) will ask the Court to schedule a temporary hearing. At that hearing, the judge will listen to and review evidence presented by both parties and then make a binding decision for the parties (“the Temporary Order”).
Temporary Issue examples: Temporary living arrangements, child custody arrangements, spousal support, restraining orders against people or property.
2. Mandatory Financial Disclosures
In a divorce case, both parties are required to disclose all of their respective financial information to one another. This step involves the completion of a document called a “Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit” (also known as DRFA) which details each party’s income expenses, assets, and debts. Financial disclosure also involves the exchange of documents to ensure full financial transparency between the parties. Documents and information can be formally requested as detailed further in Stage 3. However, information and documents can also be exchanged “informally.” In this case, the respective attorneys agree to voluntarily exchange certain documents and information with one another without formal, written requests being issued. Informal discovery can be an effective tool for the right case and will save the client the added costs associated with formal discovery.
Common Documents Exchanged: Bank statements, tax returns, property deeds, loan documents, investment accounts, paystubs or other documents evidencing income, and self-employment records.
Stage 3: Formal Requests for
Information and Evidence
Discovery Phase
Discovery is the formal, legal method to gather information and documents relevant to your case. Issuing formal discovery helps to ensure transparency and full disclosure by each party. Formal discovery also helps to prevent surprises during trial or hearings by providing the issuing party with notice of possible evidence and testimony to be presented. Additionally, all formal discovery methods have court-mandated deadlines for providing responses. This help ensure you receive the requested information and documents promptly. If the mandated deadlines are not followed, the Court may issue sanctions to the offending party including the payment of the other party’s attorney’s fees. There are several types of discovery tools, which can be issued including Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents, Requests for Admissions, Depositions, and Subpoenas. You can read a detailed explanation of each of these various discovery methods here.
Stage 4: Final Resolution
There are generally three different ways to resolve a case:
1. Negotiation and Settlement Offers
Both parties (with their attorneys) engage in negotiations and exchange written settlement offers in an effort to reach an amicable resolution. If an agreement is reached, the attorneys draft the necessary settlement documents, the parties sign these documents, and the documents are then submitted to the Court for execution. Once the settlement documents are signed by the Court, your case is concluded.
2. Mediation
If negotiations and written offers are unproductive or prove to be difficult, mediation is a helpful process to resolve a case. Mediation is often mandated by the Court before parties can proceed to a final trial. In a mediation, a neutral third-party mediator with extensive family law experience meets with both parties and their attorneys to try to find common ground and reach a settlement. You should expect the mediator to facilitate discussions, suggest compromises, and even push or challenge you at times (without taking sides). Mediations can take place at the courthouse, but are generally e held at the attorney’s office or mediator’s office (they also take place via Zoom these days!). When mediation is held in person, typically each party and their respective counsel are in separate conference rooms and the mediator will go back and forth between the two rooms to help negotiate a resolution. I find that the majority of cases are resolved through the process of mediation.
3. Final Trial
If a settlement cannot be reached through settlement offers or attending mediation, the case then goes to trial. A divorce trial is a formal court proceeding where both parties present their case (testimony, evidence, etc) to a judge, who then makes the final, binding decision. Trial is costly and highly emotional, so be prepared for both. Counsel extensively prepare for trial, which is necessary, but will also significantly increase your attorney’s fees during this stage. Trial preparation includes, but is not limited to, obtaining additional evidence, preparing exhibits, organizing witnesses, drafting trial briefs, preparing testimonies, and filing pre-trial motions.
Trial proceedings include: opening statements, witness testimonies, cross-examinations, and closing arguments. Some judges will rule immediately upon the conclusion of closing arguments. This is not always the case, especially with a more complex matter. In that instance, the judge will “take the case under advisement,” which means the judge will review and issue an order on the case sometime in the future, when he or she can get to it. Sometimes clients have to wait weeks or even several months before receiving a judge’s final ruling. The length of time a trial will take varies wildly based on the complexities of the case. A more simple trial may last a few hours. A more complicated one may last a few days. A highly contenious, complex one may last a week or more!