Temporary alimony in Georgia can reach back to the date of separation and runs until the case is finally over, unless the judge changes it, the case is dismissed, or the spouses reconcile.
When It Starts
The award can cover the months before the hearing. In Shepherd v. Shepherd, 231 Ga. 257 (1973), “[t]he trial judge is empowered to allow temporary alimony from the date of the separation to the date of the hearing.”
Until the Case Is Finally Decided
Under Aud v. Aud, 199 Ga. 714 (1945), once fixed, “the right to the amount allowed becomes absolute until the final determination of the cause,” unless the judge revokes or modifies it. The final determination is not the verdict. In Twilley v. Twilley, 195 Ga. 297 (1943), the judge properly kept the wife’s temporary alimony in force after she lost at trial and appealed, because a judgment “can not be treated as final so long as either of the parties thereto had the right to have the same reviewed.”
What Ends It Early
Four things end it before the case does: (1) the judge revokes or modifies it; (2) the case is dismissed, since under Williams v. Williams, 194 Ga. 332 (1942), an award “terminates with such dismissal”; (3) the spouses reconcile, because Williams also holds that “[s]ubsequent voluntary cohabitation will render void a judgment for temporary alimony”; or (4) a spouse dies, since the divorce action abates and the temporary award with it.
Reconciliation is not always the end. In Embry v. Embry, 228 Ga. 468 (1971), the spouses reconciled on conditions, separated again within a month, and went on to trial; the award “remains in effect and is not voided by the voluntary cohabitation.” But in Lindsay v. Lindsay, 241 Ga. 166 (1978), where the only ground was that the marriage was irretrievably broken, reconciliation ended the action itself and the award was reversed.
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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!