TN Divorce Property Division Sent Back to Lower Court for Detailed Findings

Tennessee case summary on property division in divorce.

Dora Bannor v. Philip Bannor

The husband and wife in this Hamilton County, Tennessee, case were married in Ghana in 1998.  They had three children, two of whom had reached the age of majority when the wife filed for divorce in 2017.  The husband was a medical doctor who ran a clinic in Tennessee since 2005.

The decree of divorce was entered in 2022, and the wife was granted a divorce on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct.  In particular, the trial court found that the husband had absconded with much of the marital assets to Ghana.

The trial court awarded the wife the husband’s IRA and 401(k) valued at about $185,000.  It also awarded her a judgment of $915,000, which represented its value of the property in Ghana.  The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The Court first determined that the lower court had acted properly in granting the divorce on the grounds of inappropriate conduct.  It examined the evidence, which included the husband’s testimony that the parties had agreed to move back to Ghana.  But the lower court had made a negative credibility determination regarding the husband, and the appeals court concluded that the lower court had acted within its discretion.

The husband argued that he should have been allowed to present a rebuttal witness at trial.  But since the husband had failed to make an offer of proof, the appeals court concluded that it was unable to review the decision.

The husband also argued that the lower court erred in assigning marital debt to him, but the appeals court noted that he had agreed to this at one point in the proceedings.

The husband fared better when it came to the property distribution issues.  On appeal, the husband had provided a statement showing all of the property, and the appeals court found this helpful.  The appeals court ruled that the lower court had failed to examine the relevant statutory factors, and make specific findings as to each.  For this reason, the appeals court vacated the lower court’s ruling and sent the case back for specific findings as to the property involved.

The husband had appealed one issue regarding child support, but the appeals court deemed this argument waived.  It also noted that on remand, the husband could make arguments as to alimony, since this must be done in the context of the property settlement.

No. E2022-00507-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 25, 2023).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Property Division in Tennessee Divorce and view our video Is Tennessee a 50 50 divorce state?