Wife With Health Problems Entitled to Alimony After 21 Year Marriage

Tennessee alimony divorce case summary after 21 years married.

Olivia May Marcel v. Brad Joseph Marcel

Tennessee Alimony Laws

The husband and wife in this Coffee County, Tennessee, case were married in 1999 and had two children.  The wife began to have health issues in 2016 and was diagnosed with multiple heart issues.  The wife filed for divorce in 2019 and alleged inappropriate marital conduct.  A trial was held, at which the wife filed a statement listing monthly expenses at $3420 and income as zero.  She expected social security benefits, but requested $1500 per month alimony.  The husband acknowledged that the wife had some medical issues, but believed that she was able to work.

The husband produced a statement showing his gross income of about $5300, with take-home income of about $4300.  He also showed that his expenses were about $4300.  The husband worked for Nissan, which had recently undergone a shutdown, at which time the husband was on unemployment.  The trial court reviewed paychecks and concluded that the husband’s income was about $3400 per week.  It set child support based upon that income.  It also awarded the wife $1500 per month alimony in futuro.  After some post-trial proceedings, the husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  He argued that the trial court erred in awarded alimony as it did.  The wife pursued a separate issue, namely, that the trial court erred in computing child support based upon only four paychecks, when other income such as bonuses had not been included.

The court first addressed the wife’s issue and concluded that the trial court had erred.  Looking at the year-to-date numbers on the most recent stub, the court noted that there were prior payments for overtime, double time, and bonus.  It also noted that the husband’s W-2 showed a much higher income in the previous year.

In this case involving variable income, the appeals court held that the trial court had erred in considering only four paychecks, and remanded the case for a new computation of child support.

The court then turned to the question of alimony, and it gave a brief discussion of the types of alimony allowed in Tennessee.  It recited the statutory factors, and noted that the most important were the wife’s need and the husband’s ability to pay.  The husband argued that only transitional or rehabilitative alimony should have been allowed.

The trial court had made factual findings, in which it emphasized the 21-year length of the marriage and the wife’s health conditions.  After reviewing the evidence, the Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court that a grant of alimony in futuro was appropriate.

The appeals court went on to vacate the amount of the award.  Since the trial court had incorrectly computed the husband’s income, the case was remanded to compute alimony based upon the new findings as to income.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.

No. M2021-00594-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 30, 2022).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee, and our video, How is alimony decided in Tennessee?