26 Yrs Married TN 60 Yr. Old Wife Gets $1,000 /Mo. Alimony In Futuro

Tennessee alimony law case summary following 26 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Catherine Lee Poindexter, v. John M. Poindexter, Sr. – Tennessee alimony after 26 yrs married.

The wife, Catherine Lee Poindexter and the husband, John M. Poindexter, Sr. were married in 1984 and separated in 2010 after 26 years of marriage.  There was one grown child.   The wife filed for divorce and alleged grounds of adultery and inappropriate marital conduct.  She also asked for exclusive possession of the home since the husband walked out.  The husband and wife agreed that the wife would receive possession of the home and the court ordered the husband to pay $1,200 per month in alimony.  In response, the husband claimed he was not guilty of adultery or inappropriate marital misconduct and later claimed that the wife was guilty of both.

Following a trial in August, 2011, the trial court found that the husband was more at fault for the downfall of the marriage and granted the wife the divorce.  Each spouse received their own separate property.  In addition, the wife received the house, their 9 year old car and the furniture.   She also had to pay off a $15,000 credit card debt and the mortgage on the house.  The husband was assessed the value of a 1999 Firebird, a boat, a motorcycle and a 2000 Chevy truck which the husband had already sold off.   He was also responsible for a second mortgage on the house which was taken for his business, as well as tax liens and a debt to a local hospital.

The court also awarded the wife $1,000 in alimony in futuro, based on the wife’s need and the husband’s ability to pay the alimony.    The wife was 60 years old, had little earning capacity and serious health issues.   She had little likelihood of acquiring any additional assets.  The husband, on the other hand, earned more than double what the wife earned.   While he had diabetes, he stated that he had not missed more than ten days of work in three years.   The husband appealed this award of alimony.

Alimony in futuro is paid by one spouse over a long period of time, until the death of the recipient spouse or his or her remarriage.  This type of alimony is granted when the recipient spouse will not be able to achieve, with reasonable effort, the same standard of living enjoyed during the marriage or the same standard of living the other spouse will enjoy post-divorce.

In this case, nobody, not even the husband, questioned that he had the ability to pay the alimony each month.  He himself admitted that at the end of each month, following payments on his car, his apartment and utilities he would still have over $850 left over.   In comparison, the wife proved that her expenses exceeded her income by over $1,700 a month.  The court also considered that the marriage was long-term (26 years) and both parties contributed to the marriage.  The appeals court also considered other adults living with the wife (the couple’s divorced daughter) but still held that an award of $1,000 in alimony in futuro was appropriate and upheld the decision of the lower court.

No. M2011-02282-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 7, 2012).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

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