TN Wife of 12 Years Awarded $1,500 / Mo Alimony In Futuro
Alimony Tennessee law case summary following 12 years of marriage. Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Terrie Lynn Hall Hankins v James Michael Hankins – Tennessee Alimony – 12 years of marriage.
Terrie Hankins and James Hankins married in March 1996. It was the husband’s second marriage and the wife’s fourth. The wife was 40 years old at the time of the marriage and the husband was 50 years old. They lived together for three years prior to marrying. In December of 2003, the wife filed a complaint for divorce alleging inappropriate marital conduct and irreconcilable differences. The husband counter-claimed alleging the wife was guilty of cruel and inhumane treatment of himself and his 20-year-old daughter who was living with them.
The lower court provided an award for temporary support to the wife in March of 2004 awarding the wife with $4,000 per month for the wife to maintain her health, life, and automobile insurance. In January of 2005, the husband filed a motion to dismiss the complaint and said that the wife failed to divorce her previous husband, Mr. Roger Baker who passed away in 1997. He alleged the wife had concealed her marriage to Baker and that she then fraudulently entered into marriage in 1996. According to the claim, the court did not have the ability to locate Baker and thus never served him with the required documentation about the divorce.
In November of 2005, the court heard testimony about the validity of the marriage. The court determined that Ms. Hankins did not make a diligent search to determine the location of Baker in 1985 and concluded that her divorce from Baker was invalid. This dismissed all remaining matters in the case. The wife filed for appeal in 2007. In that appeal, the court ruled that the marriage was valid and that the process was a matter of jurisdiction.
Final judgment occurred in January of 2009. This divorced the parties. However, the parties could not agree on the issue of property division and alimony. The trial court divided the parties’ property awarding the wife 48 percent of the marital estate and the husband 52 percent. It awarded the wife alimony in futuro of $1,500 per month and alimony pendente lite. It awarded the judgment of $124,000 in favor of the wife. It also provided alimony in solido of $100,000 to pay attorney fees.
There is no disputing the fact the wife did not work outside the home during the marriage. When the parties separated, the wife worked as a cocktail waitress and earned about $12,000 to $16,000 per year. The wife said she was forced to find work while her claim for Social Security Disability was pending. The wife contends the court should have provided her with $4,500 per month. The husband claims that the wife is capable of earning at least $30,000 per year, noting she was willfully underemployed and under reporting her income. He also stated the trial court erred and that he was not willfully underemployed and that the husband’s actually earning capacity is $61,525 per year, the amount he is currently earning. Plus, the trial court ruled the husband would retain in excess of $2,000,000.00 in separate property.
The appeals court ruled that the wife contributed to the marriage as a homemaker and step-parent and managed the household so the husband could focus on his career. The trial court found that the wife was economically disadvantaged with respect to her earning capacity. Due to the differences in earning capacity, the trial court awarded alimony in futuro of $1,500 per month. The appeals court found no abuse of this award and, as such, affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
No W2009-00240-COA-R3-CV, Filed March 26, 2010.
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
Memphis divorce lawyer, Miles Mason, Sr., JD, CPA practices family law exclusively and is founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC, which handles Tennessee family law matters including divorce, child support, alimony, and alimony modification.
