Wheeler County Dissolution Of Marriage Records

Wheeler County dissolution of marriage records are filed with the Superior Court Clerk in Alamo, Georgia, and those records are open to the public under state law. Whether you need to confirm a past case, obtain a certified copy, or search for a specific filing, this page walks you through the process of finding dissolution of marriage records in Wheeler County. The Superior Court handles all dissolution matters for the county, and most requests can be made by mail, in person, or through online tools that cover Georgia court records.

Wheeler County Superior Court Clerk

The Wheeler County Superior Court Clerk maintains all dissolution of marriage filings for the county. The office is located at 119 East Pearl Street in Alamo, and you can reach the clerk by phone at (912) 568-7137. The clerk's office keeps the official record of every case that moves through Superior Court, which is the only trial court in Georgia that has jurisdiction over dissolution of marriage proceedings.

If you plan to visit in person, call ahead to confirm hours and to ask about any ID requirements for record lookups. Staff can tell you what documents are on file for a given case and what the copy fees are. For certified copies, you will need to provide the names of the parties and the approximate year of the case. Processing times for in-person requests are usually the same day, while mail requests may take a week or more depending on workload.

Wheeler County is part of the Middle Judicial Circuit. Cases are heard by the circuit's Superior Court judges, who rotate through the counties in the circuit. The clerk's office handles administrative functions regardless of which judge presided over the case.

Note: Always call the clerk before sending payment by mail to confirm current fee amounts and accepted payment methods.

How to Search Wheeler County Dissolution Records Online

Several online tools give you access to Wheeler County court records without a trip to Alamo. The GSCCCA Portal is the primary statewide index for Superior Court filings in Georgia. You can search by party name and filter by county and record type. The portal shows case index data and, in many instances, links to scanned documents.

The screenshot below shows the GSCCCA Portal, which indexes Superior Court records from Wheeler County and across Georgia.

Use the portal's search filters to narrow results by county and date range, which helps when you know only approximate case details.

For certified electronic copies, the GSCCCA eCertification system lets you request official copies directly through the state platform. This is often faster than mailing a written request to the clerk and produces documents that are accepted by most courts and agencies. You will need the case number or party names to complete the request.

Note: Not all Wheeler County case documents have been digitized, so older records may only be available by contacting the clerk directly.

Filing for Dissolution of Marriage in Wheeler County

To file for dissolution of marriage in Wheeler County, at least one spouse must have lived in Georgia for a minimum of six months before filing. The petition is filed with the Superior Court Clerk at 119 East Pearl Street in Alamo. Georgia law sets a mandatory 30-day waiting period after the respondent is served before a final decree can be entered.

Georgia recognizes both uncontested and contested dissolution of marriage cases. In an uncontested case, both parties agree on all terms, and the process tends to move faster. In a contested case, the court will schedule hearings to resolve disputes over property, support, or custody. Either way, the case is filed in Superior Court and assigned a case number that becomes the permanent identifier for all related records.

The Georgia Courts website provides general guidance on court procedures and links to self-help resources for people who are navigating the process without an attorney. The PeachCourt eFiling platform is available for electronic filing in participating courts, though filers should confirm with the Wheeler County clerk whether eFiling is currently active for Superior Court cases in this county.

Georgia DPH Dissolution Verifications

The Georgia Department of Public Health maintains a limited dissolution verification index covering cases from 1952 through 1996. This is a separate resource from the court record itself. It is useful when you need a quick confirmation that a dissolution of marriage occurred in Georgia during that time frame but do not need the full court file.

The screenshot below shows the Georgia DPH Vital Records portal, which handles dissolution verification requests for cases from 1952 to 1996.

Requests go through the DPH using Form 3917, and the fee is $10 per verification. This is a state-level resource and does not replace the certified copies available from the Wheeler County Superior Court Clerk.

For cases before 1952 or after 1996, you will need to contact the Wheeler County Superior Court Clerk directly or use the GSCCCA Portal. The DPH index is simply an additional option for the covered date range.

Note: The DPH verification confirms that a dissolution occurred but does not provide a certified copy of the court decree.

Legal Framework and Grounds for Dissolution in Georgia

Georgia law provides 13 grounds for dissolution of marriage under O.C.G.A. § 19-5-3. No-fault dissolution based on the marriage being irretrievably broken is the most common ground used in Wheeler County filings, as it is throughout the state. The other grounds include adultery, desertion, and several other fault-based categories that a petitioner may choose to allege.

The Georgia Title 19, Chapter 5 statutes govern the full dissolution of marriage process, from filing through final decree. Understanding these statutes can help you know what to expect at each stage, whether you are a party to a case or simply researching a public record. The Superior Court Clerk can also point you to self-help resources if you have procedural questions about a pending case.

Wheeler County residents can also reach the Superior Court Clerks of Georgia organization for general information about court clerk services statewide. The Find My Clerk directory lists contact details for every Superior Court Clerk in Georgia, which is helpful if a case may have been filed in a neighboring county.

Historical and Archived Wheeler County Records

For older dissolution of marriage records from Wheeler County, the Georgia Archives holds some historical court materials that have been transferred from county courthouses over the years. Not all counties have transferred records, and availability varies by time period. Contact the Georgia Archives directly to ask whether any Wheeler County Superior Court records from a specific era are held in their collection.

The Georgia Archives also has microfilm collections and other resources that may help with genealogical research involving dissolution of marriage cases. These are particularly useful for cases predating the modern court record management systems. The GSCCCA Portal indexes go back several decades for most Georgia counties, so it is worth checking there first before contacting the archives.

Re:SearchGA, available at researchga.tylerhost.net, is a separate portal that searches court records from 25 participating Georgia counties. Wheeler County may or may not be included in that group. Check the portal's county list to see if Wheeler records are searchable through that system, as it can sometimes surface case data that the GSCCCA index does not include.

Cities in Wheeler County

Wheeler County has no cities that meet the 25,000-resident threshold for this directory. Alamo is the county seat and the largest community in the county, but it does not qualify as a major city for purposes of this listing. For dissolution of marriage filings, all Wheeler County residents use the Superior Court in Alamo regardless of which community they live in.

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