Judge Henry R. Thompson

Applies to

Verification form

A completed Verification form must accompany the adult name-change petition.

Applies to

Publication notice

Publication is required in every adult name-change case.

Applies to

Final order on motion for contempt

The final order on a motion for contempt must select only one of the alternatives provided in the form.

Applies to

Protective order petition

Service

Electronic service to clerk

Immediately after electronically filing protective-order petitions, a TPO Office representative must notify the Clerk of Court or designee of the filing.

Applies to

Original petition or original complaint

Service

Personal service to all parties

Parties must serve other parties with original petitions and original complaints by personal service or another means acceptable under the Civil Practice Act of Georgia.

Applies to

Subsequent electronic document

Service

Electronic service to all parties

Except where the Order provides otherwise, parties must electronically serve subsequent electronic documents on other parties through the EFSP, which delivers all electronically filed and electronically served documents to parties or designated counsel.

Applies to

Name change case court filing

A court filing fee is required for an adult name-change action, with the exact amount available from the clerk’s office.

Applies to

Name change notice publication

A separate publication fee is required and must be paid separately from the court filing fee by cash, check, or money order.

Applies to

Court filing fee

A low-income filer may request waiver of the court filing fee by filing the Poverty Affidavit and approval-order forms, but the publication fee remains payable and the case filing cannot be completed until a judge approves the request.

The clerk cannot complete the case filing until a judge signs the order approving the Poverty Affidavit.

Electronic filing does not change applicable filing deadlines.

Deadline

5 business days

The Clerk must complete all processing needed to update and publicly display case information within five business days after receiving a change-of-address form or notice, regardless of its title.