Wife Denied Alimony Despite Earlier Separation Agreement
Fayette County, Tennessee Courthouse
Tennessee alimony divorce case summary after 22 years married (from marriage through separation).
Sheila Long Pless v. Robert Eugene Pless
The husband and wife in this Williamson County, Tennessee, case were married in 1987 and had three children, all of whom were adults at the time of their divorce. The wife filed for legal separation in 2009, and the parties ultimately came to a separation agreement. That agreement called for the husband to pay alimony in futuro in the amount of $2,000 per month, and stated that this amount could not be modified.
In 2016, the husband made two separate court filings. First, he filed for divorce. He also filed a motion in the separation case to modify the alimony.
The divorce case was heard by Judge Robert A. Woodruff, who reached his decision by applying divorce principles, without reference to the separation agreement. Based upon the parties’ financial positions, it did not award alimony to either party. The wife then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals issued its decision in an opinion, penned by Judge J. Steven Stafford, which affirmed the lower court’s decision.
The wife argued that the earlier separation agreement should be enforced as a contract. But the appeals court pointed out that divorce law encompasses more than contract law, and the equitable principles of divorce law need to be applied.
The husband argued that the separation agreement was enforceable during the separation, but that it is no longer enforceable now that the parties were divorced.
The appeals court distinguished earlier cases where a separation was ordered, but as part of a divorce proceeding. Since the earlier case here was initiated as a separation and not divorce, those principles did not apply.
After analyzing all of the facts, the appeals court concluded that the evidence supported the lower court’s decision.
Since the earlier agreement did not apply, the appeals court went on to analyze whether alimony was appropriate, given the circumstances in effect at the time of the divorce case. After analyzing the facts, it concluded that the lower court had ruled correctly in denying alimony.
After addressing other issues in the case, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision in all respects.
No. M2018-02047-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Sept. 30, 2019).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee.
