Divorce step by step - the order that saves years
Divorce is not one procedure but four separate decisions that affect one another: ending the marriage, where the child lives, maintenance and division of property. Those who bundle all four into one claim often lose two years; those who separate them correctly finish the divorce itself within a month and pursue the rest calmly.
This guide describes the order of these four decisions: which is decided where, which ends by agreement and which only by court. The text serves both spouses equally, because the law here makes no distinction by sex - only by the child's interest and the origin of property.
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Public Service Hall or court - two routes and the exact line between them
The line is simple: if both spouses agree and have no minor children together - the Public Service Hall. Every other case is court, even without a property dispute.
Six steps from the decision to registration
The order is deliberate: first what is irreversible (documents, fixing the property), then what can be agreed, and court last.
Fix the documents and the property
The marriage certificate, the children's birth certificates, registry extracts for property, bank statements for the marriage period, loan agreements. Gather all of this before the divorce application - afterwards joint accounts and shared documents "disappear".
Agree on the child
The place of residence, the other parent's contact schedule (weekdays, holidays, birthdays), the amount and form of maintenance. A written agreement, ideally notarised. The court approves such an agreement if it does not conflict with the child's interests - and that shortens the process by months.
Agree on or separate the property
Joint property is divided half and half unless a contract says otherwise; property acquired before the marriage, gifted or inherited is personal. An agreement is notarised; if there is none - a separate claim, which does not hold up the divorce.
The application or the claim
At the Public Service Hall - a joint application with ID and the marriage certificate. In court - a claim at the respondent's place of residence (the parent living with the child may file at their own), with the fee and the request on the child.
The reconciliation period and the hearing
At the Public Service Hall one month automatically. In court, if one side objects, the judge sets a reconciliation period. After it expires the court dissolves the marriage at a hearing and decides on the child - by the parents' agreement or on the social service's report.
Registration and documents
After the judgment takes effect it is registered in the civil registry and a divorce certificate is issued. Then - change of surname (optional), re-registration of property, enforcement of maintenance if it is not paid voluntarily.
Residence, contact and maintenance - what the court looks at
- Place of residence
- The court looks at the child's interest, not the parent's sex or income: who provided daily care, where the school and doctor are, which parent has stable housing, what the child says (from age 10 their view must be heard). The social service inspects both parents' conditions on site.
- Contact schedule
- The other parent has the right to contact with the child, and that right is not tied to paying maintenance. The schedule must be specific - "every second weekend from 10:00 to 19:00", not "by agreement". A breach of the schedule is enforceable.
- Amount of maintenance
- The law sets no fixed percentage - the court looks at the child's needs and both parents' income. In practice a quarter of income for one child is a reference point, but the subsistence minimum is a floor, not a ceiling. Maintenance is set as a fixed sum or a share of income.
- Maintenance for the past
- Maintenance is awarded from the day the claim is filed, not from the day of separation. A past period can be claimed if you prove the other parent was evading payment - at most three years back. That is why the claim is filed early.
- Changing maintenance
- When income or needs change, either parent may ask for the amount to be reviewed - by a separate claim. Maintenance is paid until 18; if studies continue - by agreement or by court.
- Non-payment
- Maintenance arrears are recovered through the Enforcement Bureau from salary, accounts and property; persistent evasion is a ground for criminal liability. A maintenance claim is exempt from the court fee.
What is divided and what is not - the property table
Joint property is what was acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name it is in and who paid. The exceptions are precisely defined.
What the lawyer needs at the first meeting
- The marriage certificate and both spouses' IDs; for a foreign marriage - the certificate with an apostille and a notarised translation.
- The children's birth certificates, school and doctor's letters if the place of residence is disputed.
- Proof of both parents' income: a salary certificate, bank statement, business registry - for maintenance.
- Real estate extracts, car registration, company extract, deposits - compared against the marriage date.
- Proof of gifts, inheritance, pre-marital purchase - to separate personal property.
- Loan and mortgage agreements, payment history.
- A prenuptial agreement, if one exists, and any written agreement between the spouses.
Six mistakes that stretch a divorce over years
Everything in one claim
Divorce, the child, maintenance and a GEL 400,000 property dispute in one case - and the divorce waits two years for the property valuation. Divorce and the child separately, property separately.
Leaving home without documents
On the day you leave, access to the joint account, the flat documents and the loan agreements stay in the house. Copies first, leaving second.
The child as a bargaining chip
"If you do not give me the flat, you will not see the child" - the court sees this and does not decide in that parent's favour. Contact can be restricted only by proving a danger to the child.
"Hiding" property
Transferring the flat to a brother two months before the divorce - the transaction is voided and the court doubts that spouse's good faith on every other issue too.
An oral maintenance arrangement
"I will give you 500 a month" - two years later there is neither a payment history nor a basis for claiming the past. Maintenance either by notarised agreement or by court - both are enforceable.
One lawyer for both
"We are parting as friends, one lawyer is enough" - a lawyer has one client, and the other side signs an agreement nobody checked for them. Even in a peaceful divorce, two lawyers or one mediator.
What you can do yourself and where a mistake costs dearly
Yourself: a divorce at the Public Service Hall without children or a property dispute, gathering the documents, preparing the text of an agreement on the child's schedule. This is the part where a lawyer only checks the text, and one consultation is enough.
With a lawyer: every case that goes to court - the child's place of residence, maintenance on expected income, division of property where personal and joint are mixed, a foreign element. Here a mistake is irreversible: a place of residence set by the court is reviewed only on a substantial change of circumstances, and a signed property agreement almost never.
When choosing a family lawyer look at two things on the profile: experience with children's matters, and language if the spouse is a foreigner. Within 15 minutes the coordinator will match you with a lawyer who knows the practice of the social service and the court in your city.
Questions about divorce
My spouse refuses to divorce and does not come to court. How long will it take?
Refusal cannot stop the process: the court sets a reconciliation period and then dissolves the marriage even in the respondent's absence, provided they were duly summoned. Typically 4-8 months. Child and property matters continue separately.
The flat was bought with my parents' money during the marriage, in my name. Is my spouse entitled to half?
If the parents' money is documented as a gift to you personally - by a gift agreement or a transfer marked "gift" - and the flat was bought with that money, no: the flat is personal property. If the money was simply "given" without a document, the court will treat it as a family contribution and the flat as joint. The burden of proof is on you.
I pay maintenance but am not allowed to see the child. What can I do?
Maintenance and contact are independent of each other - stopping payment will work against you. A contact schedule is set by the court on a separate request, with the social service involved; a breach of the set schedule is enforceable and fined, and on repetition may become a ground for reviewing the place of residence.
I live abroad and my spouse is in Georgia. Where do I divorce?
It is possible in either country, and the choice changes the outcome - especially on property and maintenance. In Georgia the claim is filed at the respondent's place of residence; your participation is possible by power of attorney and video link. Recognition in one country of a judgment made in the other is a separate procedure.
Can I make a prenuptial agreement now, during the marriage?
Yes - a marital agreement can be concluded both before and during the marriage, before a notary. It sets the property regime (what is joint, what is personal) and rules out a dispute on divorce. It cannot regulate matters of the child and maintenance - by law those are the court's prerogative.
Do I have to change my married surname after the divorce?
No - on divorce each spouse decides for themselves whether to return to their pre-marital surname or keep the married one. This is done with one application at registration. The child's surname does not change with the divorce.
Decided on a divorce? First the order, then the claim
At a free consultation a family lawyer will tell you whether your case belongs at the Public Service Hall or in court, and what needs to be agreed before the claim - within 15 minutes the coordinator will contact you.