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Final Copy 290 Ga. 349 S11A1896. BRANHAM v. BRANHAM.

MELTON, Justice. Jenny Mae Nicholson f/k/a Branham (Wife) and William R. Branham (Husband) were divorced in June 2009. Starting on July 1, 2009, the final divorce decree requires Husband to pay periodic alimony to Wife in 120 monthly installments unless and until Wife dies, remarries, or cohabitates with someone else in a meretricious relationship. In addition, the decree requires Wife to pay the monthly mortgage on the marital home that she was awarded as part of the property settlement in the divorce. Husband fell behind on his alimony obligations, and Wife failed to keep up with the monthly mortgage payments. In November 2009, Husband filed a contempt action against Wife. In February 2010, Husband initiated a separate proceeding to cease or modify his alimony obligations, alleging that Wife was cohabitating with someone in a meretricious relationship. In January 2011, Wife then filed her own separate contempt action against Husband. The trial court set a consolidated bench trial for all three actions on March

10, 2011. After reviewing all of the evidence, the trial court found that: (1) Wife was in contempt for failing to make all mortgage payments on a timely basis; (2) Husband was in contempt for failing to pay Wife each installment of periodic alimony as it became due; and (3) Husband's petition to cease or modify his prospective alimony obligations based on Wife's meretricious relationship should be denied. Despite denying Husband's motion to modify prospective alimony payments, the trial court nevertheless reduced Husband's obligation for unpaid periodic alimony that had accrued from July 1, 2009 through February 2011 to zero. Finally, since both parties had been found in contempt, the trial court ruled that each of the parties would be responsible for his or her own attorney fees. Wife now appeals the trial court's orders, contending that the trial court erred by: (1) retroactively reducing Husband's alimony obligation; and (2) failing to grant Wife attorney fees pursuant to OCGA

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Georgia Law