Until a judge ratifies a settlement agreement and incorporates it into a final decree of divorce, a party to the agreement remains free to attack it and seek rescission, if sufficient grounds exist.(1) But what grounds justify repudiation of a settlement agreement in a divorce action, and how and wh...
In actions for divorce, Georgia courts often face requests to ratify the parties’ agreements resolving issues of property division, alimony, payment of attorneys’ fees, and even child custody and child support, and to incorporate those settlement agreements into final judgments and decrees of divorc...
A recent opinion of the Georgia Court of Appeals issued a cautionary tale to spouses who enter into settlement agreements in their divorce cases. This article discusses that appellate decision and the critical lesson in draftsmanship it imparts.
In Messick v. Messick, A21A0600 (Ga. Ct. App., May 1...
A prior article explored the enforceability of oral settlement agreements reached by attorneys outside their clients’ presence. One of the requirements for enforcement concerned the attorneys’ vested authority to enter into the settlement agreement.(1) But what happens when a party has not in fact...
Divorce and other domestic proceedings, like virtually all civil actions, often end through settlements negotiated by the parties’ attorneys. When the clients are present, or when the negotiations occur via written exchanges approved by them, questions rarely arise concerning the attorneys’ authorit...