If you petition under Georgia’s live-in-lover law and lose, you pay your former spouse’s reasonable attorney’s fees. The statute says shall, not may.
What the Statute Says
The last sentence of OCGA 19-6-19(b) reads: “In the event the petitioner does not prevail in the petition for modification on the ground set forth in this subsection, the petitioner shall be liable for reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the respondent for the defense of the action.” An ordinary divorce fee award under OCGA 19-6-2 is discretionary and turns on both spouses’ finances, as our attorney’s fees posts explain. This one follows from the result.
The Award Rises and Falls With the Petition
In Hathcock v. Hathcock, 249 Ga. 74 (1982), a jury rejected the former husband’s petition and the trial court awarded the former wife her fees under the statute. When the Georgia Supreme Court reversed that judgment for an error in the jury charge, the fee award went with it: it “must be set aside because the judgment denying modification of the periodic alimony payments has been reversed.”
You Still Have to Ask
The statute does not award fees on its own. In Branham v. Branham, 290 Ga. 349 (2012), the trial court denied a former husband’s cohabitation petition and then ruled that each side would pay its own lawyer. The former wife appealed that ruling under OCGA 19-6-19(b) and lost the point: she “never requested attorney fees, and she failed to provide any evidence supporting a claim for attorney fees,” and she raised no question when the judge asked whether there were any. Ask before the court rules, and put your bills in evidence.
If the Petitioner Wins
The mandatory fee runs one way. When the petitioner prevails, OCGA 19-6-19(d) lets the court “award attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses of litigation to the prevailing party as the interests of justice may require,” a discretionary award covered in our post on fees in alimony modification cases.
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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!