No, so long as the judge signed the order first. Timing is the whole question.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 19-6-2(a) covers a grant of attorney’s fees “made at any time during the pendency of the litigation” in an alimony, divorce and alimony, or related contempt case. Such a grant is a final judgment as to the amount, “which may be enforced by attachment for contempt of court or by writ of fieri facias, whether the parties subsequently reconcile or not.”
So a fee award already on the books is collectible. Get back together, stay together, dismiss the case – it makes no difference to that judgment.
Before the Award Is a Different Story
What the statute makes enforceable is a grant the court actually made. So if you reconcile and the case ends before the judge rules on fees, there is nothing to enforce.
That gap used to swallow awards already made, too. In Hamby v. Pye, 195 Ga. 366 (1943), a wife had recovered a judgment for permanent alimony plus attorney’s fees, and her lawyer began collection proceedings in her name. Her husband sued to set the whole decree aside because the couple had resumed living together. The Georgia Supreme Court agreed that reconciling annulled the decree “not only as to the sum allowed in terms as alimony, but also as to the attorney’s fees,” because Georgia treated fees as part of the alimony award. OCGA 19-6-2 has since changed that result.
Your Lawyer Can Collect Directly
The statute also settles who may sue. Under OCGA 19-6-2(c), “[a]n attorney may bring an action in his own name to enforce a grant of attorney’s fees made to him pursuant to this Code section.” Your reconciliation does not put your lawyer’s fee award beyond reach.
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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!