Despite Four Tries, Lawyer Can’t Get Alimony Reduced

Tennessee alimony modification case summary.

Karen Abrams Malkin v. Reed Lynn Malkin

The husband and wife in this Shelby County, Tennessee, case had been before the Tennessee Court of Appeals previously. The husband had filed three petitions to reduce his alimony obligation, and in 2015, he appealed the denial of the third petition. In 2015, the Court of Appeals ruled that the husband’s retirement was reasonable and that it constituted a change of circumstances. However, when it examined the financial aspects of the case, it determined that no change was necessary. The Tennessee Supreme Court denied review of the case, but the husband filed a fourth petition to reduce his alimony obligation. The trial court agreed, and reduced the husband’s alimony obligation to $2,000 per month. The wife then brought an appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court first ruled that it’s first opinion in the case settled the issues that were decided then. Therefore, it held that the husband would need to show that there had been a material change of circumstances after 2013, the date when his third petition was filed. After concluding that the trial court was correct in not summarily dismissing the petition, it turned to the merits of whether there had been a substantial change.
The trial court had found that the husband had a change in the expenses of his business, a law practice, as he wound down the practice to retire. However, the Court of Appeals disagreed with the lower court that these changes had been material.

When the appeals court examined those expenses, it found that few, if any changes, had taken place since 2013, which was the critical date.
The trial court had also based its ruling on the conclusion that the wife had other sources of income, but the appeals court found that this conclusion was not sufficiently documented.

For these reasons, the Curt of Appeals reversed the lower court’s ruling.

The wife had also made a petition to modify alimony, and the Court of Appeals examined the lower court’s denial of that petition. But the appeals court agreed that she had failed to meet her burden to show a material change of circumstances.

After addressing a claim for attorney’s fees, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case.

No. W2018-01197-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Oct.7, 2019).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Alimony Modification in Tennessee Law | How to Modify Alimony.