A temporary hearing is a short hearing early in a Georgia divorce where the judge decides how things will work until the case is over.
What the Judge Decides About the Children
The main statute is OCGA 19-6-14. While a divorce is pending, the judge may “grant as temporary child support a sum sufficient for the support of the children of the parties,” and may “hear and determine who shall be entitled to the care and custody of the children until the final judgment in the case.”
Under OCGA 19-9-3(a)(1), “the judge at any temporary or permanent hearing may grant sole custody, joint custody, joint legal custody, or joint physical custody as appropriate.”
Support is not guesswork either. Under OCGA 19-6-15(c)(1), the child support guidelines “shall apply as a rebuttable presumption in all legal proceedings involving the child support responsibility of a parent.” The worksheet that produces the final number produces the temporary one.
What About Alimony?
Under OCGA 19-6-3(a), either party may apply for “temporary alimony pending the issuance of a final judgment in the case.” Many temporary hearings involve no alimony claim at all. Courts also commonly address who stays in the marital residence and attorney fees.
Nothing Decided There Is Permanent
In Rose v. Rose, 294 Ga. 719 (2014), the wife had primary physical custody under a temporary order, but the trial court awarded the husband primary physical custody after the final hearing. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed, holding that “the mere fact that wife was awarded temporary physical custody does not require this Court to reach a different result.”
Similarly, in Henderson v. Henderson, 258 Ga. 205 (1988), the trial court entered a final judgment at the temporary hearing. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that “a temporary, or interlocutory, hearing in a divorce case cannot make a final adjudication of the parties’ property rights.”
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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!