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Rebecca Boehmer Epstinerv.Tyler Dean Spears

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A16A2156
DecidedFebruary 10, 2017
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CivilFamily LawCivil ProcedureStatutory InterpretationVacaturRemand
Case Summary

Rebecca Boehmer Epstiner and Tyler Dean Spears litigated custody and visitation after a trial court entered a written judgment that did not accurately reflect its oral ruling and later attempted to modify part of that judgment. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court had authority to modify the visitation provisions of a custody judgment without setting aside the entire judgment. It affirmed the order granting Spears’s motion to modify custody-related visitation provisions. The court nevertheless vacated the order entered on Epstiner’s motion because the trial court’s writing did not clearly state which portions of the prior judgment were being amended and whether the original parenting plan remained in effect. The case was remanded for entry of a new order identifying the specific modifications and preserving all unmodified terms. The opinion distinguished a complete setting aside of a judgment from a permitted partial modification. The disposition was affirmed in part and vacated in part, with remand for a corrected order.

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Rebecca Boehmer Epstiner V. Tyler Dean Spears — The Atlanta Gleaner