Can the Court Clarify Ambiguous Language in Divorce Decree?
Yes,
courts are allowed to clarify ambiguity in a final judgment and decree of
divorce. The party seeking clarification would need to file a declaratory
judgment action and invoke the court's equitable powers.
In Brown v.
Brown, the parties were divorced by way of a settlement agreement that was
incorporated into their divorce decree. Brown v. Brown, 265 Ga. 725
(1995). Per the settlement agreement, the husband agreed to pay the wife, in
monthly installments, "a sum estimated to be $40,000 for her share of the
equity in the homeplace of the parties." In exchange, the wife agreed to
execute a quitclaim deed to the husband for her interest in the property.
Further, the settlement agreement stated that the wife's equity is estimated
based on the estimated value of the property less encumbrances and certain
expenses and that the exact equity amount was to be set forth in Exhibit "A".
Exhibit "A"
was supposed to be attached to the settlement agreement before the entry of the
divorce decree and was allowed to increase or decrease the wife's equity in the
property. However, there was no Exhibit "A" attached to the settlement
agreement, and the divorce decree was issued without the attachment of any
Exhibit "A."
When the
husband stopped making the monthly installment payments to the wife, the wife
filed a declaratory judgment action to have the court clarify the division of
the property at issue. The action proceeded to a bench trial that resulted in
the entry of a judgment in which the trial court found the wife's share of the
equity in the property at the time of the divorce to be $52,913.
The husband
appealed and argued that the divorce decree established $40,000 as the wife's
share of her equity in the property and that res judicata barred the
trial court from awarding the wife more than $40,000 after the entry of the
divorce decree.
The Supreme
Court of Georgia disagreed with the husband's assertions, reasoning that where
a judgment is unclear or ambiguous, a declaratory judgment action is a proper vehicle
to clarify one's rights and duties under the judgment. It held that the settlement
agreement at issue was not clear and unambiguous, reasoning that the $40,000
amount was expressly stated to be an estimate of the wife's portion of equity
in the property and that Exhibit "A," which was intended to finalize the
estimation, was not attached to the settlement agreement. Due to the lack of
Exhibit "A" and any language in the settlement agreement for final
determination of the wife's equity in the absence of Exhibit "A," the actual
amount of the wife's equity interest was never determined. Therefore, the Court
held that the action for declaratory judgment was appropriate.
Similarly, in Royal
v. Royal, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the following language in
a settlement agreement incorporated into a divorce decree was ambiguous and
unclear as to whether the language was intended to award the wife fee simple
title to the property at issue or some lesser estate: "[certain property in
Savannah shall] be set aside to [the wife] for the purpose of making a home for
herself and [the] minor children." Royal v. Royal, 246 Ga. 229 (1980).
Therefore, the Court held that an action for declaratory judgment was
appropriate to ascertain the meaning of the language at issue.
Written by: Daesik Shin