A Georgia alimony award can include an automatic adjustment, so long as it starts from a definite amount and is keyed to a specified financial change rather than to the passage of time.
The Rule Changed in 1981
In Fitts v. Fitts, 231 Ga. 528 (1973), a jury awarded $700 a month, “adjusted either up or down based on the changes that may occur as shown on the Consumer Price Index.” The Georgia Supreme Court struck the adjustment as an illegal modification of alimony.
Hayes v. Hayes, 248 Ga. 526 (1981), overruled Fitts and upheld $700 a month plus 25 percent “of any gross increase the defendant receives in his pension”: “As long as a definite amount of alimony or child support is awarded an automatic future modification is not invalid.” Such a clause “does not preclude either party from seeking modification” under what is now OCGA 19-6-19.
What the Trigger Must Be
Howard v. Howard, 262 Ga. 144 (1992), states the test: the adjustment must be “contingent on a specified change in income” or “a specified change in an income source, such as a percentage of a pension.” So in Wood v. Wood, 257 Ga. 598 (1987), alimony of $100 a week rising to $150 when the husband’s child support ended was valid, because at that moment his “financial status will be improved by $100 per week.”
By contrast, an increase arriving “based upon the passage of time and the possibility of a change in income during that time” is invalid. Cabaniss v. Cabaniss, 251 Ga. 177 (1983).
By Agreement
Divorcing spouses “are free to contract for self-executing changes in an alimony obligation upon the occurrence of certain events.” Quillen v. Quillen, 265 Ga. 779 (1995). Such provisions “undergo the necessary judicial scrutiny at the time of entry.” Pearson v. Pearson, 265 Ga. 100 (1995). The child support side is in our automatic child support adjustments post.
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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!