$1,000 / Month Alimony in Futuro Owed By Husband after 40 Yrs. Married
Tennessee alimony law case summary following 40 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
BONNIE FAITH RODGERS v. THOMAS EDWARD RODGERS – Tennessee alimony law – 40 years married.
In December 2009, Bonnie Rodgers, the Wife filed for divorce from Thomas Rodgers, the husband, after over 40 years of marriage on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct. The final divorce decree was given in June 2011. The trial court divided the marital estate and awarded the wife periodic alimony in the amount of $1,000 per month. The husband appealed the classification and division of the estate as well as the award of alimony. The appeals court affirmed the lower court’s decision.
The wife was 65 and the husband was 66 at the time of the trial. The wife had received a bachelor’s degree and is a registered nurse. The husband had received an undergraduate degree in nuclear science and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and worked as a nuclear engineer. They have two adult children. During the trial, the wife lived at one of the parties’ properties in Tennessee, which was completely paid for and the husband lived in another city. The mother was in good health, other than a hysterectomy in 2009 and cervical cancer in 1997.
Most of the wife’s work during the marriage was part-time and she worked around the children’s schedule since she was responsible for raising them. At times, she held two jobs. At the time of the trial, the wife’s gross monthly income was $2,407.69, and her total stated expenses were $3,350.55. She had $31,000 in an IRA and $900 in a retirement account. The wife also testified that she had $285 in her bank account and could not afford to pay her attorney’s fees. The wife also testified that the husband had been abusive and there was an Order of Protection against him.
The primary issue was a dispute over the husband’s income. The wife testified that the husband earned about $100,000 per year before he retired. The husband held that his income was $1,633 per month. The question arose from additional income the husband earned from a side business, on which he did not pay taxes, for the restoration and resale of old cars.
Alimony payments after 40 years of marriage.
The trial court considered many of the factors listed in the Tennessee code to determine if and how much alimony should be paid to the wife. These included their ages, earning potential, their separate assets, the division of the marital assets, contributions to the marriage and fault. The lower court held that the husband’s had been an unsupportive marriage partner, unfaithful and short-tempered, and held him responsible for the marriage’s termination. The court awarded the wife $1,000 in periodic or in futuro alimony to be paid monthly and alimony in solido for her attorney fees, in the amount of $5,500. The husband appealed both rulings.
The appeals court upheld the decision of the lower court and affirmed both the alimony in futuro and in solido (for attorney fees). The appeals court reiterated that courts are given wide discretion on matters of alimony and may consider the factors listed in the code, as the lower court did. In this case, the couple was married for 42 years and enjoyed a nice lifestyle. The husband earned more than the wife, who stayed home and raised the children, particularly since the husband traveled often for work. The court also gave weight to the husband’s negative behavior. The husband’s testimony that he no longer worked with cars was rejected since the lower court found his testimony contradictory. A court orders alimony in futuro when one partner is at an economic disadvantage, rehabilitation is unlikely and the payments are required to enable the weaker spouse to achieve the pre-divorce lifestyle she previously enjoyed or the same post-divorce lifestyle as the paying spouse.
No. E2011-02190-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 10, 2012).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
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