A trial court does not have the authority to modify or change the amount of spousal support that is specified in a Property Settlement Agreement.

Trial Court Errs By Increasing Amount of Wife's Spousal Support or Alimony Where Property Settlement Agreement in Place

Virginia divorce lawyers always encourage their clients to enter into Property Settlement Agreements whenever possible. This is true of attorneys practicing in Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, and Hanover County. However, the attorneys should be careful to protect the interests of their client in drafting such agreements, because courts are not going to vary the terms if the intent of the parties is clear from the agreement itself. In a case decided in 2007 a judge did this and was reversed when the husband appealed.

The parties entered into a Property Settlement Agreement (PSA) that was affirmed, ratified and incorporated into their final decree of divorce that was finalized in 1991. Since the husband was paying both spousal and child support, the PSA contained a formula for determining the amount he would have to pay each month in spousal support that took into consideration the amount of statutory child support. At the time the final decreee was entered, the spousal support was calculated by the court at less than $400.00 per month. When a child was emancipated and the father no longer had to pay child support for three children, he sought to have the total monthly payments reduced. The trial court reduced the child support amount, but interpreted the agreement as the husband's promise to pay the wife $1300.00 per month total, and this effectively increased the amount of the wife's spousal support from that originally set in the final decree. The Court of Appeals overruled the trial judge, stating that while courts always have the authority to modify child support, change of spousal support amounts cannot be done if the terms of the property settlement agreement provide otherwise.

The case decision may be viewed by clicking to the following link:

http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/0514971.pdf
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