TN Wife Awarded $7,500 Alimony per mo. from Surgeon

Tennessee alimony law case summary following 29 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Court of Appeals.

Mary Ann Layman v. Thomas Stuart Layman – Tennessee divorce alimony 29 years.

Mary Ann and Thomas Layman were high school sweethearts and married in 1983.  They both earned degrees from Tennessee Wesleyan College.  After college, Mary Ann taught elementary school and supported the family while Thomas went on to medical school.  They had three children, two sons born in 1987 and 1989, and a daughter born in 1992.  After the first child was born, the wife became a stay-at-home mother, and the husband became a surgeon after completing his residency.  The wife went back to teaching from 1999 to 2005, but after experiencing foot pain, left teaching.  She experienced further health problems in the following years.  The husband underwent knee surgery, but was otherwise in good health.

The husband worked long hours at the hospital, and later admitted that he chose work over his marriage.  In 2008, the wife filed for divorce.  While the divorce was pending, the husband deposited $3,000 per month into the joint checking account, and also paid some bills.  The husband later testified that at a meeting with their attorneys about this time, it was agreed that he was satisfying his financial obligations.  But the wife testified that she struggled to pay household expenses.  At a hearing, the husband agreed to pay support of $4,336 per month.  The case lingered for about five years until trial was finally held.  By then, all of the children had left home.  The court divided the marital property, awarding each party about two million dollars in assets.  The court also awarded the wife retroactive child support of $63,200 and over $25,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.  It awarded the wife $7,500 per month in alimony.  The trial court later reduced the award of attorney’s fees, but otherwise denied the husband’s motion to reconsider.  The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court first looked at the award of alimony, and agreed with the trial court that the award of alimony in futuro was appropriate in the case.  The appeals court closely examined the lower court’s findings on the issue of whether the wife was an economically disadvantaged spouse, and concluded that on the facts of this case supported the trial court’s findings.  It therefore agreed that she was entitled to long-term alimony.  The appeals court then took a hard look at the evidence considered by the trial court and concluded that the amount awarded was supported by the evidence.

The appeals court did agree with the husband, however, on the issue of the retroactive child support.  In particular, it found that the trial court had erred in setting the date at which the parties had separated.  Since the child support obligation did not start until that date, the court held that the amount awarded was in error.  It went on to hold that the husband had more than met his obligation for the relevant period, and reversed the entire award of retroactive support.

The appeals court denied the wife’s request for attorney’s fees on appeal.

No. E2013-00429-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 28, 2014).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, read Tennessee Alimony Law in Divorce | Answers to FAQs.  Also, for legal updates, news, analysis, and commentary, see our Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Alimony category.