Jennison v. Jennison

71 S.E. 244, 136 Ga. 202, 1911 Ga. LEXIS 482
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedApril 14, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 71 S.E. 244 (Jennison v. Jennison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jennison v. Jennison, 71 S.E. 244, 136 Ga. 202, 1911 Ga. LEXIS 482 (Ga. 1911).

Opinion

I-Iolden, J.

On August 13/1909, the plaintiff in error and her husband, the defendant in error, entered into an agreement reciting that they had permanently separated and were living apart, and the wife was about to institute an action for total divorce from the husband, and for temporary and permanent 'alimony; that the [203]*203husband desired to make permanent provision for the support and maintenance of the wife, and incidentally for the support, education, and maintenance of an adopted daughter, “all in lieu of temporary and permanent alimony.” In full settlement of all such claims, the husband conveyed to the wife certain real and personal property, and agreed to pay her, so long as she remained single, $150 per month for the support and maintenance of herself and adopted daughter. It was agreed that the provisions relating to temporary and permanent alimony, “shall be made part of the order or decree of court to be entered in the divorce and alimony suit, the provision herein made by the party of the first part to be taken by party of the second part as full and complete settlement,” and that if the husband failed to make the payments voluntarily, they might be enforced by the court “by contempt proceedings, or otherwise, as is usual in the enforcement of- decrees for alimony.” Three days after this agreement was entered into, the wife instituted proceedings for divorce, and for temporary and permanent alimony. On September 25, 1909, a consent decree was entered in the cause with respect to temporary alimony, wherein the court recited the existence of the agreement between the husband and wife respecting alimony, and that it was made subject to the approval of the court, and fixed the amount of temporary alimony to be allowed the wife as $150 per month, the amount which the husband had agreed to pay by the terms of the separation agreement. On February 18, 1910, by leave of the court, the husband filed an answer in the nature of a cross-bill. On May 12, 1910, he filed an answer to the rule nisi requiring him to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt for failure to pay temporary alimony. He alleged that his wife had been guilty of misconduct both prior and subsequent to the execution of the separation agreement (which facts had only recently been discovered by him), and asked that she be denied a. divorce and that he be granted one, and that the decree awarding the plaintiff temporary alimony be rescinded and the agreement of August 13, 1909, above referred to, be annulled, except in so far as it had been executed. The defendant having failed and refused to continue the payment of the monthly instalments of alimony awarded under the decree, the plaintiff sought an attachment against him for contempt. Hpon the hearing of the contempt proceeding, the court passed an order providing'that [204]*204the defendant at once pay $250 to the wife by way of compensation for having supported the adopted child since the last payment of alimony by the defendant, and that he pay monthly thereafter $50 for the support of such child, but revoked the provision in the decree for temporary alimony, directing the payment of $150 per month by the defendant for .'the support of the plaintiff and the adopted child. To this order the plaintiff excepted.

1. The wife excepted to the order of the court revoking so much of the previous order as granted her temporary alimony. One of the contentions of the plaintiff is that the court had no right to modify or revoke its previous order granting her temporary alimony, unless there was some change in the circumstances or conditions of the parties since the order w^s granted. She contends that the record shows that the court did not pass the order excepted to because of any change in the condition or circumstances of the parties occurring since the order for temporary alimony was rendered, but that the court revoked its previous order granting her temporary alimony on the ground that he had a right to do so whether or not any such change existed. The bill of exceptions has in it the following recitals: “The court upon hearing the.contempt rule, by. consent, considered the answer by way of cross-bill aforesaid and the-response thereto, both of which were verified, and so far 'as pertinent were considered by the court as evidence upon the contempt rule, and the response.as verified to the said answer and cross-bill was considered by the court as a traverse of the allegations as to drunkenness and adultery, made by the said W. B. Jennison in his response to the contempt rule.’ The hearing of said matter proceeded from day to day and was concluded upon the 21st day of May, 1910, the court then and there announcing its opinion, in substance, as follows: ‘The evidence in this case has covered a somewhat wider field than I anticipated it would when the investigation began. After hearing evidence I have determined not to pass upon the merits of the several claims of tfie parties as to right to divorce. I do not agree with Mr. Anderson, representing Mrs.. Jennison, that the contract between the parties relative to the alimony is binding upon the court as to temporary alimony. In the court’s opinion, the question of temporary alimony is always, pending the divorce suit, in the breast of the court, and notwithstanding the previous order of the court in this case confirming and adopt[205]*205ing the contract aforesaid as to temporary alimony, the court may at this time modify or entirely abrogate said order in its discretion. It appears from the evidence that shortly after the separation between the parties, defendant, W. E. Jennison, conveyed and turned over to the plaintiff, Irene H. Jennison, all of his tangible assets, consisting of the equity of redemption in the home place at Ansley Park in the City of Atlanta which the plaintiff testifies she sold for about $2,200.00; also the household furniture, -furnishings, etc., contained in said home place, which he testified cost him something like $6,900.00, and was accumulated during the married life of the parties extending over some years, and which the said Irene H. Jennison testified might possibly be worth two thousand to twenty-five hundred dollars at the present time. Since the defendant thus gave to his wife, the plaintiff, all of his assets, and since it appears from his testimony that he is earning only $350 per month — less than the income which he received several years ago, I will not make any allowance to the said Irene II. Jennison for temporary alimony for her own support, and the previous order or decree of the court granted on the 25th day of September, 1909, will be modified accordingly. I shall leave the custody 'of the adopted child, Naomi, with Mrs. Jennison, and require the defendant, W. E. Jennison, to pay to plaintiff, said Irene H. Jennison, at once the sum of $250 by way of compensation to her for having supported the said Naomi during the past five months, and since January 13, 1910, the date of the last payment of alimony by the defendant, and shall require the defendant to pay to plaintiff, to be used for the support, maintenance, and education of the said Naomi, the sum of $50, payable at once, to cover the month of May, 1910, and the further sum of $50 on the first day of each month hereafter until the final hearing and disposition of the case. I shall revoke the provision in the order of 25th of September, 1909, directing the payment of $150 per month by way of temporary alimony and for the support of the plaintiff and the child Naomi.

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Bluebook (online)
71 S.E. 244, 136 Ga. 202, 1911 Ga. LEXIS 482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jennison-v-jennison-ga-1911.