Yes. A Georgia judge can change a temporary order at any time until the final decree is entered.
The Judge Keeps the Power to Revisit
In Williamson v. Williamson, 302 Ga. App. 115 (2010), a mother had agreed, in connection with a temporary order, that her husband’s paternity was no longer in issue. Two years later she moved for genetic testing anyway. The Court of Appeals held she was not stuck with the earlier position, explaining that “[a] temporary order is different in nature and purpose from a final divorce decree; it does not decide any final issues between the parties, or adjudicate the parental rights of the parties. And the judge in a pending divorce action may from time to time, until the final decree is entered, modify his or her orders.”
Nothing About It Is Locked In
In Foster v. Foster, 230 Ga. 658 (1973), a judge placed temporary custody of a two-year-old with the father’s sister. The mother applied to modify, and the judge left the child where she was “until the further order of the court.” Affirming, the Georgia Supreme Court said that “[t]he temporary custody hearing does not decide any final issues between the parties,” that “[t]he child may be given to one person at one hearing and a different disposition be made at another hearing,” and that “[s]hould the divorce case be dismissed the temporary order is immediately nullified.”
The Rule Is Still Current
The Georgia Supreme Court repeated the point in Taylor v. Taylor, 293 Ga. 615 (2013), holding that temporary and permanent orders “have different purposes, are of different natures, and are governed by different rules.”
So a bad result at your temporary hearing is a setback, not a verdict – and a good one is not a guarantee.
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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!