When a term in a Georgia divorce settlement agreement is clear, the court enforces its plain meaning, even where the result is one a spouse did not expect.
The Rule
Hall v. Day, 273 Ga. 838 (2001), states it: “Where any contractual term of a settlement agreement incorporated into a decree is clear, unambiguous, and capable of only one interpretation as written, the provision’s plain meaning must be strictly enforced.” OCGA 13-2-2(2) adds: “Words generally bear their usual and common signification.” Courts often use a dictionary to find that meaning, as our post on enforcing a separation agreement exactly as written shows.
Examples
In Holland v. Holland, 287 Ga. 866 (2010), an agreement incorporated into the decree provided that when the lake house sold, the “net profit” would be split equally and the husband would then reimburse the wife $98,000 “from his 50% share of the net profits.” His half came to about $34,000, and the trial court ordered him to pay the remaining $64,000 out of pocket. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed: whatever the parties “may have hoped or expected,” the agreement “clearly limits” his reimbursement to his half of the profits.
In Albritton v. Kopp, 300 Ga. 529 (2017), child support continued past age 18 while the daughter was “enrolled or registered as a full-time high school student.” When she returned for a fifth year taking fewer classes, the father stopped paying, citing the school’s definition of full-time. The Court held the term unambiguous and applied its settled meaning, continuous attendance during the normal school year, because the school’s definition “was neither incorporated into the parties’ agreement” nor shown to be what both parties intended.
The words you sign are the words a court will enforce; if a term needs a special definition, the agreement must supply it.
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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!