Dismissing a Georgia divorce or alimony case erases neither a fee award already entered nor the court’s power to award fees already incurred.
The Rule
Johnson v. Johnson, 260 Ga. 443 (1990), states it. A husband sued to modify his alimony, his former wife asked for fees to defend, and years later the case was dismissed over her objection. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed: the question “is not whether the prayer for attorney fees is a counterclaim, it is whether any attorney fees have been incurred. If there have been attorney fees incurred or awarded, then the dismissal of the action cannot divest the court of its discretion in awarding the fees or the party of any fees awarded.”
What Dismissal Still Does
This does not keep the case alive. As our recrimination posts explain, a prayer for temporary alimony and fees will not stop your spouse from dismissing the divorce; a counterclaim for permanent alimony will. Johnson governs what follows: the case ends, the fee question does not.
Act Within the Term of Court
There is a clock. In Newsom v. Newsom, 257 Ga. 238 (1987), a husband dismissed his alimony modification action and his former wife moved for fees two months later, the next term of court. Her award was reversed: “It was incumbent upon the appellee to file her motion for attorney fees at the time the case was dismissed,” or at latest within that term.
Related Situations
Withdrawing an alimony claim does not withdraw the fee claim: in Maddox v. Maddox, 278 Ga. 606 (2004), “a request for attorney fees can withstand the withdrawal of a claim for temporary alimony.” A pending request survives a party’s death: “[o]bligations for legal services should be vitiated no more by death than by divorce.” Love v. Love, 251 Ga. 846 (1984). And under OCGA 19-6-2(a)(2) an award already made is enforceable “whether the parties subsequently reconcile or not,” as our reconciliation post explains.
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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!