Lawyer Wins Another Day in Divorce Court
Tennessee case summary on alimony and child support in divorce.

Court must recompute alimony and child support.
Daniel Seth Holliday v. Elizabeth Frances Holliday
The husband and wife in this Hamilton County, Tennessee, case were married in 2003 and had two children. The husband, an attorney, filed for divorce in 2022 and alleged irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct. The wife was a paralegal, but last worked outside the home in 2018. The wife made the same allegations against her husband, and she also requested an award of alimony.
The husband reported a monthly income of about $31,000, but claimed expenses of over $36,000. The wife reported zero monthly income but expenses of over $16,000.
In 2023, the parties agreed to a parenting plan granting joint custody and equal parenting time. The court divided property, ordered the husband to pay child support, and also addressed alimony. The trial court conceded that Tennessee favors rehabilitative alimony, but held that the wife could not achieve an earning capacity sufficient to support the standard of living during the marriage. Therefore, it ordered the husband to pay alimony in futuro in the amount of $9500 per month for just over a year, followed by $6000 per month thereafter. The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
On the issues of child support and alimony, the husband contended that the trial court had failed to consider the amount of self-employment tax he had to pay. The child support guidelines state that such amounts shall be deducted, and provided a worksheet for doing so. The appeals court agreed and reversed on this issue. The husband also argued that the lower court had failed to take into consideration his business expenses, and after reviewing the record, the appeals court agreed.
After arguing other issues, the husband also argued that the lower court should have imputed income to the wife. The appeals court held that the lower court would have to address on remand the question of whether the wife was voluntarily underemployed, and if so, impute income to her.
Finally, the husband argued that it was error to award the wife alimony in futuro, and the amount of alimony. The appeals court dealt with this quickly. Since the change in child support affected his ability to pay alimony, that would also need to be recomputed on remand.
For these reasons, the Court of Appeals vacated and remanded.
No. E2023-01494-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 31, 2024).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee, and our video, How is alimony decided in Tennessee?
To learn more, see Alimony Modification in Tennessee Law | How to Modify Alimony and our video, How is alimony decided in Tennessee?