The general rule in Georgia holds that parties to legal proceedings must pay their own attorney’s fees and litigation expenses, absent a contract or statute providing otherwise.(1) In various domestic actions, however, Georgia statutes explicitly authorize awards of legal fees and expenses. This art...
Provisions of a final judgment and decree of divorce typically settle all issues regarding division of the spouses’ assets, child custody, child support, and alimony. Whether and to what extent either spouse can modify those provisions after entry of a final judgment are the most common questions ra...
Everyone contemplating divorce should have a consultation with a practicing family law attorney. Consultations typically last one to two hours and are confidential. One attorney cannot give legal advice to both parties without violating Georgia State Bar Rules. Hiring an attorney for representatio...
In a recent Georgia Supreme Court decision, the Court held that where the trial court dismisses your complaint for downward modification of child support because you have not complied with discovery, you have to wait two years to refile. Specifically, the Supreme Court held that it was error to allo...
A periodic alimony obligation cannot be retroactively modified. Branham v. Branham, S11A1896, decided January 9, 2012.
Here, the trial court denied the Husband’s petition to modify future alimony payments under the live-in lover statute, but then reduced the Husband’s obligation to zero for unpai...