Ward v. Ward, 289 Ga. 250

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed a post-divorce proceeding involving visitation restrictions and an award of attorney fees. The court held that a restriction prohibiting all overnight male guests was overbroad and vacated the attorney-fee award because the trial court did not identify a statutory basis or make the required supporting findings. The judgment was reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.

Holdings

1. A trial court may restrict a custodial parent's conduct when the evidence shows that the conduct or a third party's presence will adversely affect the children's best interests, but a restriction prohibiting all overnight male guests is overbroad when it also covers nonromantic visitors for whom no harmful effect is shown.
2. An attorney-fee award in a divorce-related proceeding cannot stand when the trial court does not identify the statutory basis for the award and does not make the findings required by that statute; the issue must be vacated and remanded for clarification and supporting findings.
3. Dorene did not waive her challenges to the visitation restriction and attorney-fee award.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by prohibiting Dorene from having any overnight male guests while the children were present.
2. Whether the trial court properly awarded Richard attorney fees without identifying the statutory basis for the award or making the findings required by the applicable statute.
3. Whether Dorene waived her challenges to the visitation restriction and attorney-fee award on appeal.

Disposition

other