A consent order setting pendente lite spousal support cannot be incorporated into a final decree as an agreement of the parties instead of receiving evidence and determining the appropriate amount of post-decree support, unless of course both parties agree, Virginia's Court of Appeals ruled in Selah v. Selah, 9/5/17.
The trial judge did so at the beginning of the trial. After the close of the evidence, she changed her mind, as the consent pendente lite order automatically would terminate when the final decree was entered. But the parties had not produced evidence on spousal support, because of her earlier ruling. She did not reopen the evidence and let them do so. The Court of Appeals affirmed her decision not to incorporate the temporary agreement as a permanent one, but reversed and remanded for the trial court to receive and consider spousal support evidence.
