$1500/Mo Alimony For TN Wife w/ Cancer Married 22 Yrs to Dr.
Tennessee alimony law case summary following 22 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Herman Charles Heikkenen v Janice Lee Heikkenen – Tennessee alimony law – 22 years married.
In the divorce case of Herman Heikkenen and Janice Heikkenen, the trial court awarded $1,500 per month as alimony in futuro to the wife. The husband appealed this decision. The initial case was tried in June of 2004. It ended with the trial court dividing the marital property and in the creation of a parenting plan for the couple’s minor child. The wife, a schoolteacher, had not been rehired for the upcoming school year at the time of the trial so the court delayed its determination of alimony at that time. In March of 2005, another hearing took place but the husband failed to provide evidence to present at the time of the appeal of what occurred.
The parties married in May of 1982 and had one son. The husband attended medical school during the marriage and graduated in 1994, earning his medical degree. The wife, during that time, worked at Neiman Marcus and contributed to the family’s needs. After graduating, the husband performed a residency at the University of Tennessee and took a two ½ year leave of absence at that point when his brother committed suicide and the his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The husband stated he fell into alcoholism at that time which limited is ability to work.
At the time of the trial, the husband was a licensed physician and was 48 years old, and was living in Arizona. He accepted a job at the Prescott Urgent Care Center where he practices family medicine. He earned $60,167.64 through June 6th of 2003. The wife was 47 at the time of the trial and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1980. She obtained her teaching certificate. At the time of the trial she had taught for two years in the White County school system but was not hired for the upcoming school year. In June of 2003, the wife was diagnosed with cancer and faced additional surgeries from the one’s she has already had.
The trial court ordered that the husband pay $1,500 in alimony per month. The husband appealed this decision. The appeals court stated that with the absence of the transcript from the hearing in 2005, it was difficult to know what the trial court’s process was in awarding the alimony. A statement of expenses for the wife indicated they were $6,145.23 per month, which exceeds the wife’s income and child support (paid at $1,600 per month) by $2,394.24. The husband’s earnings were $11,570.70 per month gross or $7,045.15 per month, which after child support left him with $3,945.15. He claimed expenses of $7,529 per month including $4,484 in child support.
Factors such as the husband’s leave of absence and the trial courts determination that the husband was at fault for the divorce, as well as factors indicating that the husband could pay, required the appeals court to determine awarding alimony in futuro of $1,500 per month alimony in futuro was justified.
No. M2005-01084-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 11, 2007).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, read Tennessee Alimony Law in Divorce | Answers to FAQs. Also, for legal updates, news, analysis, and commentary, see our Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Alimony category.
