Atlanta Divorce Lawyers Guide to Divorce and Family Law Cases in Fulton County, Georgia: Overview
Because Atlanta is located in Fulton County, Georgia, most divorces and family law cases in Atlanta go through this court system. What very few people know, however, is that divorces in Atlanta are handled very differently than any other part of Georgia. Because this system is so different from all others in Georgia, our divorce lawyers have created the Atlanta Divorce Lawyers Guide to Divorce and Family Law Cases in Fulton County, Georgia to better help people understand these differences and guide them through the Fulton County system. This blog will be the first in a series of blogs that will form our new guide.
In Fulton County, there is a specially designated Family Division that is comprised of three judges who are dedicated to hear only family law cases. These cases include: divorce, child custody, child support, visitation, modifications, domestic violence, alimony, legitimation, paternity, adoptions, step parent adoptions and contempt. While to outsiders to our current divorce and family law system this may not appear to be that large of a deal, it is important to remember that in every other county in Georgia any Superior Court judge can hear any type of divorce or family law matter, but they also must handle cases involving criminal matters (from DUIs to murder trials), personal injury cases (from auto accidents to class action lawsuits), business law cases (from non-compete litigation to contract disputes), and the list goes on and on.
The Family Division began as a Family Law pilot project in 1998. The goal of the Family Law Division is to provide for a case management approach to resolving cases. It provide the parties an opportunity to reach solutions that best fit their situation while under the supervision of the Courts. The Court does this by providing many opportunities to discuss issues and reach settlement. The county manages the cases as follows:
“One Family – One Judge” – When you file a family law case in Fulton County, you will be assigned one Judge for the entire case. There are three Judges total in the Family Division and each Judge spends a minimum of two years on the bench. At the end of the two years, the Judge has the option to stay on the bench or to return back to the regular Superior Court bench. It is common for a Judge to stay on the Family Law Bench for multiple two year terms.
If either party files a case in the future involving the same parties, then the case will be assigned to the same Judge from the first case. If that particular Judge is no longer on the family law bench, then the parties will see the Judge who was assigned to the same seat as their first Judge.
For more information, visit the Fulton County Family Division website , the Family Law Information Center or the I-CAN! web based domestic forms.
