In a Georgia contempt case, the judge can interpret and clarify what your divorce decree means, but, apart from visitation, cannot change what it requires.
The Test
In Kaufmann v. Kaufmann, 246 Ga. 266 (1980), the Georgia Supreme Court held that “a court may always interpret and clarify its own orders,” and that the test “is whether the clarification is reasonable or whether it is so contrary to the apparent intention of the original order as to amount to a modification.”
A Clarification That Stood
In Kaufmann, the decree required the husband to have the house repaired “at his own expense,” and he had not. The trial court let him purge his contempt by paying $15,000 for the repairs and hiring an engineer to supervise them, and the Supreme Court affirmed.
A Change That Was Not Allowed
But in Darroch v. Willis, 286 Ga. 566 (2010), the decree gave the husband “exclusive ownership” of the house and required him to remove the wife from the mortgage within 30 days of remarrying. When he did not, the trial court ordered him to sell the house unless he refinanced. The Supreme Court upheld the contempt finding but reversed the sale requirement as a modification, noting the court could instead order him to pay her a significant sum every day, or jail him, until he complied.
The Visitation Exception
Visitation is the exception. In Carlson v. Carlson, 284 Ga. 143 (2008), the Supreme Court held that “an exception is made with regard to visitation rights” and upheld a contempt order making a mother pay all the costs of her supervised visits instead of half. Courts locate that power in OCGA 19-9-3(b), which permits such changes no “more often than once in each two-year period.” Custody cannot be changed that way, as our posts on a child’s education and medical decisions explain; our post on ambiguous decrees covers unclear terms.
Contact Us
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!