$2000 / Mo. X 120 Mos. Rehabilitative Alimony Awarded 17 Yr. Tenn Wife
Tennessee alimony law case summary following 17 years of marriage. Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Sharon Kay Long v James Erdine Long – Tennessee Alimony Law – 17 years married.
In the divorce case of Sharon Long and James Long, who had three minor children at the time of the divorce, the husband held a management position at a publicly traded company and the wife was a homemaker. The wife filed divorce after learning her husband engaged in an affair. The husband relocated to Maryland while the divorce was pending and received a bonus check. The husband was required to pay spousal support and child support pendente lite. The wife was granted the divorce on grounds of adultery. Child support and rehabilitative alimony was to be paid for 10 years.
The parties were married in March of 1989. Prior to the marriage, which occurred in Florida, the husband worked for a total of ten years at Lowe’s Home Improvement. The wife worked as a clerical employee for a computer company. The husband quick this position and worked for Builder’s First Source shortly after the marriage. After the birth of the first child, the wife remained at home.
Trips with Mistress and Gifts Comprises Fault for Alimony in Tennessee
Part of the husband’s income included shares of the company’s stock. During the marriage, the husband went on trips with his mistress and bought her gifts. During the marriage, the husband incurred substantial gambling debts. The wife filed for divorce in June of 2005 alleging irreconcilable differences, inappropriate martial conduct and adultery.
The parties agreed to divide the jointly held checking account, with each party receiving about $110,000. The trial court ordered the husband to pay the wife spousal support of $2,335 per month and ordered the husband to pay $42,425 in temporary child support. During the pending divorce, the husband received a bonus from the employer in excess of $137,000. The wife filed a motion to compel him to pay half to her or to file the check with the court clerk. The husband argued he could not meet the spousal and child support requirements without the check. The trial court ordered the husband to use $30,000 of the bonus money to pay a tax obligation.
The husband’s base salary was $138,350 per year and he could earn up to an additional $50,000 in bonuses based on performance. Prior to the marriage, the wife earned $20,000 per year. The wife asserted the need for spousal support.
With monthly expenses of $5,983.50 per month and her working part-time at a cookie store, she was earning less than $200 per week. The wife planned to go to school part-time with a goal of earning a teaching certificate in three years. She asked for rehabilitative alimony of $2,400 per month. The husband claimed the wife did not need spousal support since she had a college degree.
The husband stated his expenses were $13,946 including expenses for taking care of his children. The husband said if he earned a bonus of $25,000 per year, he expected to earn $235,000 in gross income in 2006. The court awarded the divorce in November of 2006, ending the 17 year marriage.
The court found that the husband committed adultery. The court determined the husband’s income was sufficient to make child support and temporary support without utilizing the $110,000 he received at the close of the accounts.
The husband’s appeal in terms of the alimony payments is that the amount awarded exceeds his ability to pay. The husband believed the award of $2,000 per month in spousal support for 120 months as rehabilitative alimony is in excess. The evidence on file for the appeal did not find that the husband doesn’t have the means to pay the funds based on his income over the last several years. The appeals court also noted that the husband’s spending on trips for his girlfriend undercuts this argument. The appeals court found no error in the award of spousal support and affirmed its decision to award it.
No. M2006-02526-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 3, 2008).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more about alimony, read Tennessee Alimony Law in Divorce | Answers to FAQs. Also, see the MemphisDivorce.com Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Alimony category.
Memphis divorce lawyer, Miles Mason, Sr. practices family law exclusively and is the founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC, which handles Tennessee family law matters including divorce, alimony, alimony modification, child support, and child support modification. Download our free e-Book, Your First Steps: 7 Steps Planning Your Tennessee Divorce. Contact an attorney today at (901) 683-1850.
