In a Georgia case involving child support, the child support worksheet goes to the other side at the same time as your financial affidavit.
When the Worksheet Is Served
Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2 requires that the worksheet and schedules called for by OCGA 19-6-15 be completed and served on the opposing party along with the financial affidavit. The worksheet has to be the version promulgated by the Georgia Child Support Commission. A form you found somewhere else does not satisfy the rule.
Where a case is filed with a complete separation agreement, the parties still must attach a completed worksheet and any applicable schedules to the proposed final judgment, and the agreement itself must state the parties’ gross and adjusted incomes.
Who Prepares It
OCGA 19-6-15(m)(1) puts that on the parties: “Schedules and worksheets shall be prepared by the parties.” The one recognized substitute is in child support services cases, where if neither parent prepared a worksheet the court may rely on the one prepared by child support services.
Where the Worksheet Ends Up
Under OCGA 19-6-15(c)(4), “the parties shall submit to the court their worksheets and schedules.” OCGA 19-6-15(m)(1) then requires that they “be attached to the final court order or judgment,” and OCGA 19-5-12(c) says the same about a divorce decree. So the worksheet is not just an exchange between lawyers. It ends up bound into the judgment, where anyone reading the decree later can see the figures the court worked from.
The one carve-out is a protective order entered under OCGA 19-13-4, which does not have to carry the worksheets and schedules with it.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!