76 Yr Old Husband to Pay $2K/ Mo. Alimony in Futuro After 25 Yr Marriage

Tennessee alimony divorce case summary after 25 years married.

The husband and wife in this Washington County, Tennessee, divorce case were married in 1990. At the time of trial, the husband was 75 years old and the wife 61. There were numerous accusations that the husband had transferred marital funds without permission and that the husband had not paid the temporary spousal support ordered while the case was pending.

After addressing other issues in the case, the trial court made its award of alimony. It found that the wife was the financially disadvantaged spouse, and that the husband had a far greater earning capacity, despite his age. It did find that the wife’s need was greater than the husband’s ability to pay, but that the husband did have some ability to pay. Therefore, it ordered $2,000 per month in permanent alimony in futuro. The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. He raised one issue concerning the assignment of business debts, and also argued that the award of alimony was error.

After addressing the proper allocation of the debts, the court turned to the question of alimony. It noted that many of the same factors that applied to the assignment of the debt applied to the question of alimony.

The appeals court agreed with the lower court that the wife had a need for alimony. He argued that he did not have the ability to pay, but the appeals court noted that his argument boiled down to his belief that the trial court should have believed him. But the appeals court, after reviewing the testimony, agreed that the lower court was in the best position to weigh his testimony, and decided that it was not credible. Since an appeals court is required to defer to the trial court’s findings as to credibility, the Court of Appeals held that there was no abuse of discretion, and that the lower court’s findings were properly supported.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed and assessed the costs of the appeal against the husband.

No. E2016-00531-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 29, 2017).

See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee.