Atlanta Divorce Attorney Blog

Under Georgia law, both parties in a divorce are required to attend a parenting seminar in Georgia if the parties have children under the age of 18 due to the volatile nature of divorce and the impact it has on children. See Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.8. The parties are not required to attend the seminar together - they can take it at separate locations and on different dates. Even though the content of the parenting seminar is basically the same throughout the state, each county manages its own parenting seminar program. Generally, the topics addressed are how to reduce stress for children during a divorce, visitation recommendations, financial obligations, conflict management, the changing parental roles during a divorce, stress indicators for children, and the needs and age appropriate expectations of children going through a divorce.

You can find more information for parenting seminars in Metropolitan Atlanta counties from our blog at:

• Cobb County
• DeKalb County
• Forsyth County
• Gwinnett County
• Fulton County

Please note that there are only a limited number of seminars offered each month so it is important to review the schedule and try to attend the next available seminar. If you cannot attend the parenting seminar for the county in which your divorce is filed, most counties allow you to take the seminar in any other county in the State of Georgia to receive credit. If you take the seminar in another county, however, you will need to bring the civil action file number assigned to your case with you.

Continue reading "Atlanta Parenting Seminar Information" »

Forsyth County (Cumming) and Cherokee County (Ball Ground, Canton, and Woodstock) are part of the 9th judicial district. All of the counties in this 9th judicial district work jointly to offer their seminar for divorcing parents throughout the judicial district. They are currently offering seminars in:

• Cumming at the Forsyth County Library located at 585 Dahlonega Street, Cumming, GA 30040
• Canton at the R. T. Jones Memorial Library located at 116 Brown Industrial Parkway, Canton, GA 30114
• and in Blairsville, Clarkesville, Dahlonega, Ellijay, and Gainesville.

The cost of the seminar is currently $50.00 per person. You can find additional information about these seminars at 9th Judicial Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution website.

Gwinnett County (Buford, Dacula, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville, and Suwanee) offers its Parenting Seminar in order to help parties involved in a divorce with minor children met their mandatory parenting time seminar at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30045. Day seminars are held in conference room A West Wing. Evening seminars are held Jury assembly Room East Wing.

One unique fact about the Gwinnett seminars is they are offer either a four hour weekday seminar (from 9:00 am to 1:00 p.m.) or two two-hour evening sessions (from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.). The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person and registration MUST be received prior to the day of the seminar. You can find additional information and register online for these seminars at the Gwinnett County Parenting Seminar website.

Fulton County (Alpharetta, Atlanta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell) offers its Family in Transition seminar in order to help parties involved in a divorce with minor children met their mandatory parenting time seminar at three different locations in the county. Currently, it is offering a:

• Saturday morning seminar once per month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Downtown Justice Center Building located at 160 Pryor Street, S.W., Courtroom G33, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Weekday morning seminar once per month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the South Fulton Service Center located at 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park, Georgia in the auditorium.
• Weekday evening seminar once per month from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the North Fulton Service Center located at 7741 Roswell Road, Atlanta, Georgia in the auditorium.

Please note that both the North and South service center locations require pre-registration. The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person. You can find additional information about these seminars at Fulton County Families in Transition program website.

Cobb County (Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Marietta, Powder Springs and Smyrna) offers its Divorcing Parents Seminar in order to help parties involved in a divorce with minor children met their mandatory parenting time seminar at the Cobb County Superior Court Building (Building D; 6th floor jury assembly room), 30 Waddle Street, Marietta, GA 30090.

Cobb County (like Gwinnett) also offer both a four hour weekday seminar (from 8:30 am to 1:00 p.m.) or two two-hour evening sessions (from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.). The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person. You can find additional information and register online for these seminars at the Cobb County Divorcing Parents Seminar website.

DeKalb County (Avondale Estates, Chamblee, Decatur, Doraville, Lithonia, and Stone Mountain) offers its Seminar for Divorcing Parents at three different locations:

• The Callaway Building located at 120 West Trinity Place Room 311, Decatur, Georgia
• DeKalb County Courthouse Judicial Tower located at 556 N. McDonough St, 5th Floor Room “A”, Decatur, Georgia
• The Maloof Building located at 1300 Commerce Drive Decatur, Decatur, Georgia, in the Annex building

The seminars are held on:

• the first Wednesday of each month from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
• the third Wednesday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and
• the fourth Friday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The cost of the seminar is currently $30.00 per person. Dates and time are subject to change so please check the DeKalb County Seminar for Divorcing Parents website for the most up to date information and for online registration under the divorce tab.