22 Yrs Married Financial Advisor Wife Must Prove Inability to Rehabilitate

Tennessee alimony divorce case summary after 22 years married.

Margaret McClain Sneed Wills v. David Kyle Wills

The husband and wife in this Tennessee case were married in 1992, and the wife filed a complaint for divorce in 2014.  The trial court granted the divorce in 2015, and awarded the wife alimony in the amount of $5,400 per month until the death of either party or the wife’s remarriage.

In setting the amount, the trial court had noted that the husband was 46, was employed as a financial adviser, and had earned over $400,000 in 2014.  In the months of 2015 prior to the trial, his net pay had been over $118,000.  The wife, who was 43, had a high school education and had worked only part time during the marriage.  At the time of trial, she was attending cosmetology school and believed that she would earn about $15,000 per year when she finished school and received her license.

The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  He argued that the award of alimony was inappropriate, and the amount was unreasonably high.

The appeals court first noted that trial courts have a great deal of discretion in setting alimony.  It noted that the general goal of alimony is to ensure that both spouses enjoy similar post-divorce standards of living.  However, it also noted that there is a presumption in favor of rehabilitative alimony.

The husband pointed out that the lower court had made no specific findings on whether or not the wife could be rehabilitated in the absence of permanent alimony.

The appeals court agreed that the lower court should have made specific findings as to whether rehabilitative alimony or transitional alimony would have been appropriate.  Therefore, it vacated the lower court’s order and sent the case back for specific findings.

The appeals court also agreed with the husband that the wife’s award was more than her need.   It examined her monthly expenses, and determined that the amount awarded was excessive.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals vacated the lower court’s decision and remanded the case for additional proceedings.

No. M2015-01639-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 16, 2016).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee.