Michelle Leavitt brought a contempt action against her former husband, Nicholas Charles, alleging that his failure to assume financial responsibility for the college education of the parties’ two children violated the parties’ settlement agreement. The trial court refused to dismiss Leavitt’s action and we granted Charles’ application for discretionary review. We reverse.
The settlement agreement negotiated and entered into by the parties provides in pertinent part in Paragraph 15 that should the parties’ children desire to attend college, Charles would assume certain financial responsibilities “to the extent his then existing financial condition permits, of which he will be the sole judge.” In support of his motion to dismiss Charles averred that “[b]ased on my current financial situation, I have determined that I am financially unable to pay for the college education expenses of my children.”
Charles’ assumption- of the obligation to provide child support past his children’s age of majority is wholly dependent on the terms set forth in the agreement. See
Harden v. Harden,
Therefore, because Paragraph 15 is legally unenforceable, 1 the trial court erred by denying Charles’ motion to dismiss Leavitt’s contempt action.
Judgment reversed.
Notes
Because the settlement agreement did not consist of a single promise, based on a single consideration, but rather was founded on a legal consideration containing a promise to do several things or to refrain from doing several things, and only the promise regarding the college education payments is legally unenforceable, the remaining promises, which are not illegal, remain valid. See OCGA § 13-1-8;
Horne v. Drachman,
