When the spouse paying periodic alimony dies, the payments stop, and the estate owes nothing more unless the parties’ own agreement clearly says otherwise.
A Judge or Jury Cannot Bind the Estate
In Winstead v. Winstead, 265 Ga. 690 (1995), a judge awarded permanent alimony after a bench trial and charged it against the husband’s estate. The Georgia Supreme Court struck it: “the trial court could not impose a duty on the husband’s estate to pay periodic alimony without an agreement of the parties.” A jury cannot do it either. In Foskey v. Foskey, 257 Ga. 736 (1988), a verdict providing that the alimony “will survive the death of the defendant” was “unauthorized by law.”
An Agreement Can, If It Says So Clearly
An agreement incorporated into the decree can bind the estate, but only in explicit terms. In Findley v. Findley, 280 Ga. 454 (2006), a 1975 agreement required $500 a month “until she dies or remarries,” and the husband died in 2004. The Supreme Court held that the obligation “terminates upon the death of the obligor spouse unless the incorporated settlement agreement contains a clear expression of intent to extend payments beyond the obligor’s death.” That promise was not such an expression, so the estate owed nothing. Dolvin v. Dolvin, 248 Ga. 439 (1981), held the same of “so long as [wife] lives or until such time as she marries again.”
By contrast, the agreement in Franklin v. Franklin, 256 Ga. 61 (1986), provided $1,000 a month “until Mrs. Franklin marries or dies” and added that “[s]aid payments are a charge against the estate of Mr. Franklin.” The estate had to keep paying.
What This Means
Even though “until she dies” sounds like a promise for life, it does not outlive the payer. Only words naming the estate, or saying the obligation survives his death, will do. What a recipient can ask for instead is in our post on protecting alimony after an ex’s death.
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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!