Wills v. Wills

Supreme Court of Georgia

Wills v. Wills

238 S.E.2d 360, 239 Ga. 656, 1977 Ga. LEXIS 1288

Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided September 7, 1977·No. 32277·Published

Opinion

Hill, Justice.

The wife in this divorce case appeals from the award of $3,000 to her as attorney fees contending that reasonable compensation would be at least $20,000.

Attorney fees should be sufficient to insure adequate legal representation for the wife, but an award will not be disturbed absent a showing of an abuse of discretion by the trial judge. Hodges v. Hodges, 235 Ga. 848 (2) (221 SE2d 597) (1976); Fenters v. Fenters, 238 Ga. 131 (2) (231 SE2d 741) (1977); Code Ann. § 30-203.

The wife’s counsel contends that this was a complicated case and that he and his associates expended more than $20,000 worth of time on behalf of the wife. The trial judge, however, was authorized to find that much of this time was spent as attorney for the wife, but not on the divorce proceedings. No abuse of discretion has been shown.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur. Submitted May 6, 1977 Decided September 7, 1977 Rehearing denied September 27, 1977. Westmoreland, Patterson & Moseley, Stewart R. Brown, for appellant. Edwin S. Varner, for appellee.

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Hill, Justice.

The wife in this divorce case appeals from the award of $3,000 to her as attorney fees contending that reasonable compensation would be at least $20,000.

Attorney fees should be sufficient to insure adequate legal representation for the wife, but an award will not be disturbed absent a showing of an abuse of discretion by the trial judge. Hodges v. Hodges, 235 Ga. 848 (2) (221 SE2d 597) (1976); Fenters v. Fenters, 238 Ga. 131 (2) (231 SE2d 741) (1977); Code Ann. § 30-203.

The wife’s counsel contends that this was a complicated case and that he and his associates expended more than $20,000 worth of time on behalf of the wife. The trial judge, however, was authorized to find that much of this time was spent as attorney for the wife, but not on the divorce proceedings. No abuse of discretion has been shown.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur. Submitted May 6, 1977 Decided September 7, 1977 Rehearing denied September 27, 1977. Westmoreland, Patterson & Moseley, Stewart R. Brown, for appellant. Edwin S. Varner, for appellee.

Wills v. Wills, 238 S.E.2d 360, 239 Ga. 656, 1977 Ga. LEXIS 1288 (Ga. 1977).

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