No. A Georgia court can change alimony or child support only from the date of its modification order forward, and payments already due are still owed. The one narrow exception, for child support after a large involuntary income loss, follows.
Child Support
Under OCGA 19-6-17(e), each child support installment is, “on and after the date due,” “[n]ot subject to retroactive modification.” In Perez v. Cunningham, 355 Ga. App. 393 (2020), a mother petitioned in December 2017, and the trial court raised the father’s support starting January 2018. The Court of Appeals vacated the order: the increase could run only from the final order of January 18, 2019.
Alimony
In Hendrix v. Stone, 261 Ga. 874 (1992), the Georgia Supreme Court explained that “as each installment accrues, it is, in essence, a final judgment for a fixed sum,” and held that a judgment modifying alimony “is effective no earlier than the date of the judgment.”
Relief While You Wait
A court may temporarily modify alimony under OCGA 19-6-19(c), or child support under OCGA 19-6-15(k)(4), while the petition is pending; Hendrix pointed alimony payers to that remedy.
Lost Income
Under OCGA 19-6-15(j)(1), when a parent’s income falls 25 percent or more through involuntary job loss, loss of health, incarceration, or similar adversity, “the portion of child support attributable to lost income shall not accrue from the date of the service of the petition for modification, provided that service is made on the other parent.” In Galvin v. Galvin, 288 Ga. 125 (2010), where only modification was sought, it did not make the father’s reduction retroactive. It applies when arrears are decided on a contempt petition, as in Bowman v. Rouse, 364 Ga. App. 119 (2022), where a father furloughed in May 2020 could not use it for June and July, before the mother was served in August.
So file, serve promptly, and keep paying the ordered amount until the court acts.
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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!