Wife Gets Rehabilitative Alimony to Seek Vocational Degree in Tennessee Divorce

Tennessee alimony law case summary following 12 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Court of Appeals.

Aimee Lorraine Howell v. Clint Austin Howell  – Tennessee divorce alimony 12 years.

The husband and wife in this Tennessee divorce case were married in 2001 and had one child.  In 2012, the mother filed for divorce, alleging adultery, inappropriate marital conduct, and irreconcilable differences.   After trial, the court entered judgment granting the divorce.  The mother was named the primary residential parent, with the father receiving 101 days of parenting time.  The mother was granted decision-making authority.

The court also awarded alimony to the wife.  She was given an award of $10,000 alimony in solido to cover her attorney’s fees.  She was also awarded rehabilitative alimony of $1,200 per month for five years.

The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  Among other issues, he argued that the awards of alimony were improper.

The appeals court first looked at the award of rehabilitative alimony.  The trial court had found that the wife had a need and the husband had the ability to pay.  The wife had recently received her GED and had looked into various vocational programs.  She decided to pursue a respiratory assistant program at a community college, which required that she first take some basic classes.

On appeal, the husband argued that he had no ability to pay since he was unemployed and had no income.  However, five days after the trial, he had accepted a systems engineer position with an annual salary of $75,000.  The appeals court agreed with the lower court that the father had the ability to pay.

The appeals court also examined the wife’s income and expenses in order to assess her need.  After doing so, it also agreed with the trial  court that she had a need.

The father also argued that five years was excessive.  The court examined the record and found that the lower court had acted within its discretion in setting the rehabilitative alimony for this length of time.

The court also examined the wife’s attorney fees and her assets, and concluded that the award of alimony to help pay these fees was within the lower court’s discretion.

For these reasons, the court affirmed the alimony awards.  It did, however, remand the case to adjust the father’s parenting time and revisit the award of decision-making authority to the mother.

No. M2013-02260-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 30, 2014).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, read Tennessee Alimony Law.