Ex-Husband’s Duty to Pay Mortgage Continues Despite Wife’s Remarriage

Tennessee post-divorce alimony collection matter.

Pamela Patteson v. Christopher Patteson

Ex-Husband’s Duty to Pay Mortgage Continues Despite Wife’s Remarriage

The husband and wife in this Shelby County, Tennessee, were married in 1992 and separated in 2017.  The entered into a marital dissolution agreement (MDA) which called for the husband to pay the wife $1800 per month until the mortgage was paid in full.  It further provided that if the wife sold the property, he would continue to pay $1800 per month until the payoff amount was paid in full.

The wife later filed a petition for civil contempt, stating that the husband had failed to comply.

The MDA did not specify what type of alimony the payment was.  The husband argued that before the question of contempt could be addressed, the alimony had to be first classified.  He argued that it should be classified as alimony in futuro, since the total amount was not ascertainable at the time of award.  And since the wife had remarried, the alimony obligation was terminated.

The trial court disagreed, and held that the alimony was alimony in solido, which does not terminate upon remarriage.  The husband had relied upon his attorney’s advice in not paying, and for that reason, his conduct was held to be not willful.  But he was ordered to pay an arrearage of over $64,000, plus attorney’s fees of over $34,000.  The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court cited a 1999 Tennessee Supreme Court case which holds that if an alimony award contains contingencies that may affect the amount, then it is alimony in futuro.  But the court agreed with the lower court that this rule did not apply.  After analyzing the MDA, it concluded that the amount was definite and ascertainable, even though there was a contingency as to whether it would be paid in installments or a lump sum.  For this reason, it affirmed the lower court’s ruling: Since the alimony was properly characterized as being alimony in solido, it did not terminate upon the wife’s remarriage.

The appeals court also affirmed the award of attorney’s fees at trial.  And since the MDA provided for attorney’s fees, it also awarded her fees for the appeal.  It remanded the case to the lower court to determine the amount.

No. W2022-01187-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 18, 2023).

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?