I’ve been a family lawyer for thirty years in Coweta and Fayette County and have seen a lot of changes over this time. When I started Court in Fayette County was held in the annex in what is now the Fayette Sheriff’s department, and Court in Coweta was held in the probate building in downtown Newnan. Now both counties have beautiful Courthouses.
Under Georgia law all divorce cases are “equity” cases, which are assigned to Superior Court. “Equity” means “Fair”, which is a subjective standard based on what the Judge thinks is “Fair” or “Equity”. When you file your divorce you are assigned a Judge who will handle your case from start to finish. The value of hiring a local divorce attorney is the attorney will be familiar with the Judge’s tendencies, having been before the Court on numerous occasions. Judges are typically appointed by the Georgia Governor, and are very conservative. Consider this when appearing in Court; Dress as if you are going to church. Suits and ties are not required, but business causal should be the standard.
Let your attorney do the speaking. Respond directly to questions asked. You are not going to win a confrontation with the opposing counsel by not answering directly or trying to hide the truth in a bunch of nonsense. Answer the question, and if there is more information which could further explain your answer, you have a right to follow up. Truly listen to your attorney’s advice about your case. You are paying good money for the attorney’s input; don’t presume you know better what is going to happen. If you don’t trust your attorney fire him or her and hire an attorney who you do trust. It is never good when there is an adversary relationship between the lawyer and the client; but this happens more that it should. You have the right to a return call from your lawyer within twenty-four hours but understand that most attorneys have numerous clients and are quite busy. If your attorney fails to respond to you, find an attorney who will.