About Agreetodivorce

with Attorney Mediator Julie Ernst.

Divorce usually begins with a husband or wife retaining a lawyer for $2500-$5000.

The lawyer files divorce papers with the court. The sheriff serves the other spouse with a copy.

The spouse hires another lawyer to file a response.

For the next year, the lawyers:

  • Call, email and meet.

  • Request and exchange documents.

  • Schedule and take depositions.

  • File and respond to motions.

  • Hold conferences.

  • Conduct hearings.

Every month, lawyers bill for time spent at $375+ per hour.

Every month, both spouses pay for time their lawyer spends working the case.

Once the paper pushing, discussing and fighting is exhausted, the judge orders mediation.

With help of a trained, experienced mediator, 90-97% of the time, the couple reaches agreement.

Then judge signs the decree, and the couple is divorced.

This is backwards. Why not use mediation techniques to settle first, and avoid spending $30,000-50,000 fighting in court?

“A woman approached me in a store. I’d helped her settle her divorce in mediation. She told me they paid over $50,000 to lawyers who fought for over a year. At mediation they settled for what she told her lawyer at the first meeting she thought her husband agreed to. These are not rich people. Now, she couldn’t pay her son’s college tuition. I knew I had to offer a better way.”

— Attorney Mediator Julie Ernst

Licensed Attorney

 

Attorney Julie Ernst has practiced family law in Georgia since 1994. She’s licensed in Georgia, Virginia and the United States District Court. She’s personally filed thousands of flat fee uncontested divorces in Georgia. With physical offices in Peachtree Corners (near Johns Creek and Norcross) in Gwinnett County, and Atlanta in Fulton County, she also maintains a virtual office serving counties throughout all of Georgia. Clients love the ability to get advice and services without taking time off from work and family commitments. With statewide efiling, our office handles flat fee uncontested divorces in the metro Atlanta area and all of Georgia. With over 25 years’ experience, she understands different courts and judges have specific preferences about how divorces are completed. Her wealth of knowledge and finesse with court staff means better and faster results.  

 

Registered Mediator & Arbitrator

 

Registered with Georgia's Office of Dispute Resolution since 1999, Julie Ernst has mediated thousands of cases in courts, privately and online. Due to over 500 hours of advanced training, she’s approved by the State of Georgia to mediate civil, domestic relations, domestic violence, juvenile and child deprivation cases.  As a litigation attorney, she’s counseled clients through countless successful mediations. She mediates court-referred cases in Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties, as well as counties in the Sixth (Upson, Pike, Spalding, Monroe, Lamar, Henry, Fayette and Butts Counties), Seventh (Walker, Polk, Paulding, Haralson, Gordon, Floyd, Douglas, Dade, Chattooga, Catoosa and Bartow Counties), Ninth (White, Union, Towns, Stephens, Rabun, Pickens, Lumpking, Hall, Habersham, Gilmer, Forsyth, Fannin, Dawson and Cherokee Counties) and Tenth (Walton, Richmond, Oglethorpe, Oconee, Madison, Hart, Franklin, Elbert, Clarke, Columbia and Burke Counties) Districts of Georgia. She mediates privately with traditional and same-sex couples wanting to file an uncontested divorce. As a registered arbitrator, she settles disputes arising out of mediated agreements and division of personal property in divorce actions. 

Mediator Julie Ernst is recognized as an expert in virtual mediation with links to her video on how attorneys and parties use Zoom for video/virtual mediation on the State Bar of Georgia’s website, as well as the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. Visit www.julieernst.com/zoom-tips to see the video.

 

Certified Legal & Divorce Coach

 

Certified Coach Julie Ernst helps divorce and mediation clients see possibilities where none seem to exist. By shifting mindset, desired results can be broken into actionable steps. We help clients navigate through difficult times before, during and after divorce so they can create the life they imagine. If you find yourself stuck in a negative situation due to an impending divorce or having survived one, we’re here to help you get on track.

 

Experience you can trust

 

Prior to opening her firm in 1998, Julie Ernst worked for Georgia Legal Services Program, where she represented clients and supervised attorneys in a 24-county North Georgia area in divorce, custody, bankruptcy, government benefits, health care, employment, education, estate planning and housing cases. As staff attorney she litigated divorces, custody and child support cases. As Assistant Public Defender of the Northern Judicial District of Georgia, she handled all juvenile court cases assigned to the office from Elbert, Oconee, Hart, Oglethorpe and Madison Counties. There she litigated juvenile crimes and represented parents in deprivation custody cases.

Julie Ernst has had specialized training in domestic violence, juvenile and family law. She graduated from Georgia State University's College of Law in 1994, and Miami University in 1989. She’s trained professionals and lawyers in mediation, coached and judged high school and college mock trial competitions. She helped raise $50,000, walked 240 miles and acted as media spokesperson to fight breast cancer. She holds a Certificate in Positive Psychology, received formal training and certification as a coach from The Life Coach School. She’s divorced and remarried, a mother of three, stepmom of two, and grandmother of four (so far).