Tenn. CPA Wife’s Alimony Reduced to $3,200 /Mo. After 30 Yrs Married

Tennessee alimony law case summary following over 30 years of marriage.  Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Priscilla Lee Slagle v Lawrence Fred Slagle – Tennessee Alimony Law – Married Over 30 Years

The appeals court heard the case of Priscilla Slagle, wife and Lawrence Slagle, husband. The two were married for more than 30 years. The wife filed for divorce on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct and irreconcilable differences and the husband filed a counterclaim on the same grounds. The lower court held the husband in contempt for violating the statutorily mandated injunction prohibiting the transfer of any marital property. He was found in contempt for failing to comply with discovery requests.

The lower court granted the wife a divorce and prohibited conduct between the husband and the child (who was the parties’ adopted grandson) until he purged himself of contempt. The court also awarded the wife alimony in futuro of $5,000 per month.

The parties met in 1967 when the wife was just 14. A daughter was born a year later. They married in 1980. At the time of the trial, the husband was 67 and the wife was 57. The husband worked in the travel and resort development business. The husband worked in South Africa as well as St. Maarten Island for several years. In 2004, he established the company, World Vacations. The wife kept the books for the various business ventures. The husband testified that he took the wife’s name off bank accounts in 2005 and 2006, placing joint assets in his name only.

At the time of the marriage, the wife had a GED and worked for Fairfield Communities. She began college, graduated with a business degree, and became a certified public accountant. She did not work consistently throughout their marriage. Her CPA license is inactive and she did not have the funds necessary to take 80 hours of continuing education classes.

In 2007, the wife stated the marriage became strained and things were strange as the husband began shredding documents. After being threatened, she and the child moved out while the husband was out of the country. The wife took $16,000 in cash and $12,000 in checks. The wife filed for divorce and during the pending process, the husband moved marital assets in a willful manner to hide them from the divorce. He took out $500,000 in cashed CDs and loans and claimed the funds were lost as a bad investment. He had no documentation of the agreement and claimed his partners only dealt in cash.

The husband stated his current monthly income was $3,700 a month including social security and an annuity income of $2,800. The husband had not paid pendente lite ordered alimony for 14 months at the time of the trial. The wife had applied for 76 positions or employment agencies without any success. She stated this was due to her age, lack of experience and long breaks in employment. She had an income of $2,116 including child support and social security payments. Her minimum monthly expenses were $2,701.

The court awarded the wife alimony in futuro of $5,000 per month and divided assets. The court valued the parties’ assets at $2.2 million and gave the wife the marital home, its contents and other assets.

The husband filed an appeal of the award. He believed only transitional or rehabilitative alimony is necessary noting that the wife is a CPA who worked in her field in the past. The appeals court considered various things including the fact that the husband was and continues to be a successful entrepreneur and that the wife has a GED certified and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business. The wife contributed to the marriage as a mother and aiding in the husband’s business in various ways without pay. The long-term marriage of 30 years also contributed. The appeals court noted the husband’s earning capacity far exceeds that of the wife.

The appeals court rejected the husband’s claim that the lower court abused its discretion in awarding the wife alimony in futuro, but did disagree on the amount of the award. The wife testified expenses were significantly lower than this. The appeals court reduced the amount to $3,200 a month plus $500 toward health insurance.

No E2011-00785-COA-R3-CV, Filed April 30, 2012.

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.