Divorces filed in Savannah Chatham County Georgia are handled a bit differently than in other counties in Georgia. When a divorce is filed in Chatham County Georgia Superior Court, the case is automatically and randomly assigned to one of four Chatham County Superior Court Judges.
Depending on the issues in the case, it may be possible to request a Temporary Hearing. A Temporary Hearing will be scheduled one to three months after filing, depending on the Chatham County Court’s availability. Temporary Hearings are rather short (less than one or two hours) and are limited to just a few issues. These are typically on issues of child custody and visitation or child support or alimony. The purpose is to set some rules in place while the divorce is pending.
With a few exceptions, all Savannah Divorces will be required to attend mediation. The good people in Chatham County Georgia are fortunate to have The Mediation Center located in Savannah. At The Mediation Center, a neutral, trained mediator will be assigned to the case. That mediator’s role is to help the divorcing spouses try and find compromises to make in their case. Most Savannah Divorces are settled at mediation. The Manely Firm’s Savannah office understands the value to its clients in reaching resolution at mediation and has one of the highest settlement rates in the Chatham County Georgia area. As an alternative to The Mediation Center, the parties can select a private mediator.
If mediation is unsuccessful in resolving all of the issues in the Savannah Divorce, then the divorcing spouses will have to have a final trial. At the final trial, the Chatham County Superior Court Judge assigned to the Savannah Divorce will make the decisions on the unresolved issues and a divorce will be granted. Our Savannah Divorce lawyers are well respected trial attorneys who are in Chatham County Superior Court often and have lots of experience in front of the Chatham County Superior Court Judges.
As I said, Savannah, Chatham County Superior Court, is a unique place. But all of us who live here know that already.
Give us a call if we can help.
David Purvis