North Georgia Uncontested Divorce – Missing Spouse

Even if you have not seen your spouse in years and have no idea where they are currently living, or if they are even alive, you can still get an uncontested divorce in Georgia but it will require us to appear before the Judge twice and will take at least twice as long as the other uncontested divorce proceedings.  If you can swear under oath that you do not know the current whereabouts of your spouse and are unable to locate them through family or friends, then the Judge will sign an order allowing service on your spouse to be made through publication in the local newspaper. However, the court can only award a divorce and custody of the minor children and will not be able to divide property or award support for the children or you in this manner.  Along with the regular filing fee of approximately $82.50 you will also have to pay a fee to the newspaper that is the “legal organ” in your county to run the legal ad for 4 weeks at approximate cost of $80.00. We will be able to petition the Judge 60 days after the notice first runs in the paper for the final decree of divorce.  We will have to briefly appear again before the Judge in court for this final ruling.

   ****    WARNING: Service by publication is allowed by O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4 (e)(1) ONLY in the event your missing spouse “cannot, after due diligence, be found.”   “Due diligence” means that a reasonable effort must be made to find him or her. Our legal system is designed to make sure that each party in a lawsuit is protected by due process, especially notice and the right to a fair hearing. Your divorce decree can be set aside later if your spouse surfaces and claims you knew or should have known where they were and the court determines that they are right and their right to due process was violated.