§ 19-6-18.Revision of judgment for permanent alimony and child support rendered prior to July 1, 1977; petition and hearing; expenses of litigation
Chapter 6. Alimony and Child Support · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1964 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-6-18
Plain-English Summary
This section covers older judgments: those providing permanent alimony for the support of a wife, a child or children, or both, entered before July 1, 1977. Its language reflects the law of that era, so it speaks of husbands paying and wives receiving. Judgments for permanent alimony for the support of a spouse entered on or after that date fall under § 19-6-19 and the sections after it, which use gender-neutral terms.
Either the husband or the wife may petition to revise the judgment by showing a change in the husband’s income and financial status. The petition follows divorce procedure and is filed in the proper venue for civil cases. Neither spouse may file another petition within two years from the date that spouse filed a previous one. After hearing both parties, the jury, or the judge if no jury is demanded, may revise the judgment up or down if the change is satisfactorily proved. Evidence about the wife’s income and financial status may also come in. The question is only whether a substantial change in the husband’s situation warrants revision; whether the wife or children were entitled to support in the first place isn’t reopened.
The procedure applies only where the original judgment ordered periodic payments, weekly, monthly, annual or similar. It doesn’t apply where the wife or children received an award from the corpus of the husband’s estate instead. When the husband files, the court may require him to pay the wife’s reasonable expenses of litigation in defending it. Section 19-6-23 and § 19-6-24 explain which judgments this section reaches and the special rule for those entered before March 9, 1955.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an alimony judgment from before 1977 be modified in Georgia?
Yes. A permanent alimony judgment for a wife, child or children, or both, entered before July 1, 1977, may be revised on a petition by either the husband or the wife showing a change in the husband’s income and financial status. The jury, or the judge if no jury is demanded, decides whether the change is proved and warrants a revision.
How often can you file to modify an old alimony judgment in Georgia?
Neither spouse may file another petition under this section within two years from the date that spouse filed a previous one. The waiting period runs separately for each spouse, so one spouse’s filing doesn’t start the clock for the other.
Can the wife’s finances be considered in modifying a pre-1977 alimony award?
Yes. The revision turns on a change in the husband’s income and financial status, but at the hearing the section allows testimony and evidence about the wife’s income and financial status as well. The jury, or the judge if no jury is demanded, weighs all of it in deciding whether a revision is warranted.
Can a lump-sum property award from an old divorce be modified under this section?
No. The procedure applies only where the husband was ordered to pay permanent alimony in weekly, monthly, annual or similar periodic payments. It doesn’t apply where the wife or children received an award from the corpus of the husband’s estate in place of periodic payments.
Who pays the legal costs when a husband seeks to modify an old alimony judgment?
When the husband files the petition, the court may require him to pay the reasonable expenses of litigation the wife incurs, for herself, the children, or both, in defending it. That award is discretionary; the section says “may,” and the court decides what expenses are reasonable. The section has no matching rule for a petition the wife files.
Amendment History
Laws 1955, p. 630, §§ 1-4; Laws 1964, p. 713, § 1.