Alimony Couldn’t Be Modified When Spouses Agreed After Tennessee Divorce

Tennessee alimony termination law case summary.

Barbara M. Hicks Vick v. Brandon P. Hicks – Tennessee divorce alimony modification

The husband and wife in this Tennessee divorce case divorced in 2012.  At the time of their divorce, they entered into a written marital dissolution agreement which included a permanent parenting plan.  The agreement stated that it settled all of their rights and obligations.  Among other things, the agreement called for the husband to pay “transitional alimony” for sixty months, and stated that neither party could modify the alimony obligation.

The wife subsequently remarried, and when she did, the husband made a motion to terminate the alimony obligation.  The trial court dismissed that motion, on the grounds that the parties had specifically agreed that the obligation could not be modified.  The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The wife again pointed to the language that the alimony could not be modified.  The husband conceded that this language appeared in the agreement, but disputed its legal application.  He argued that because the alimony was transitional, it could not be modified under statute, other than in certain specific situations.  He argued that the inclusion of this language was merely a restatement of what was in the statute, in order to clarify that the alimony was truly transitional.  He argued that the statute did allow modification in some cases, and that those grounds for modification should still apply, despite the language of the agreement.

The husband cited earlier cases in which transitional alimony had been modified.  But the court was quick to point out that those cases did not involve such a clear statement that the alimony could not be modified.  It agreed with the wife that the language of the agreement was clear, and was controlling in the case.

For those reasons, the appellate court agreed that the lower court’s order was proper, and affirmed the dismissal of the husband’s motion.

No. W2013-02672-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 17, 2014).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, read Tennessee Alimony Modification Law | How to Modify Alimony in TN.