The 9 Best Family and Inheritance Lawyers in Tbilisi

The state fees are small and public: about 60 GEL for an administrative divorce at the House of Justice and around 100 GEL to file a contested claim in court. Lawyer fees are the real cost and most Tbilisi firms do not publish them. One practice on this list quotes a fixed fee from EUR 490 for an uncontested divorce, and that is a fair anchor for the simple end. Contested custody or a disputed estate is usually billed in stages or hourly, and can run into several thousand lari once hearings, translations and expert reports are counted. Treat any figure you read online, including ours, as indicative until the firm puts it in writing.

Yes, in most cases. If both spouses agree and there are no minor children or property disputes, the divorce is administrative and runs through the House of Justice in about five business days. Where one or both parties are abroad, several Tbilisi firms handle the whole thing by power of attorney, and one on this list has built its entire practice around remote cases. Contested divorces go to court instead and typically take four to six months, though a lawyer can appear for you at most hearings.

Not strictly, because Georgian inheritance rules in the Civil Code will apply to Georgian-situated property whether or not you leave a will. A Georgian will drafted and notarised locally usually saves your heirs months of translation, apostille and proof-of-relationship work. It is worth checking against your home-country will so the two do not contradict each other. Also be aware that spouses, children and parents hold mandatory shares under Georgian law, so a will cannot cut them out entirely. This is a question for a lawyer plus a notary, not a template.

Courts apply a best-interests-of-the-child standard, weighing each parent's capacity to provide care, financial stability, the child's age and health, and the child's own view where age permits. The 2024 Family Values and Protection of Minors law did not change the divorce routes themselves, but firms report closer judicial scrutiny of schooling continuity and day-to-day parenting arrangements. For foreign parents that means more questions about relocation, cross-border schooling and healthcare. Documented routine matters more than argument here, so start keeping records early.

Usually, but only after you do the paperwork. Georgian decrees and certificates need an apostille, or consular legalisation for non-Hague countries, plus a certified translation. Apostille costs sit in roughly the 60 to 220 GEL range depending on speed. Ask the firm up front whether they handle recognition abroad or hand you the document and wish you luck, because the difference shows up months later. If you also hold assets or a residence permit elsewhere, get a lawyer in that jurisdiction to sanity-check the plan.

Some of it, yes. An uncontested divorce with no children and no shared property is an administrative filing you can make yourself at the House of Justice, and a simple will can be notarised without counsel. Hire a lawyer once there are minor children, a contested asset, a Georgian company in the marital pot, an estate with several heirs, or any cross-border element. The test is whether a decision has to be argued rather than merely recorded. Most firms here offer a free or cheap first consultation, so use one to find out which side of that line you are on.