Disabled Husband Must Pay Alimony After 39 Years Married in Tennessee Divorce

Tennessee alimony law case summary following 39 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Court of Appeals.

Cathy and William Phipps were married in 1973, and had three children, all of whom were the age of majority at the time of their 2012 Tennessee divorce.

The husband had served in the Vietnam War prior to their marriage, and the couple met when the husband was in college. She was working as a nurse at the time. Eventually, the wife became primarily a stay-at-home mother, and the husband worked various jobs, including operating his own coal mining business. After the husband suffered a heart attack, he sold the business, and the wife returned to nursing. Neither party was employed when the divorce was filed. Instead, they relied on the husband’s disability benefits. They had also been living off their assets, which included a lump sum of $125,000 that the husband had received from the VA for exposure to Agent Orange during the war. The husband’s total disability income was about $6,900 per month. After trial, the court divided the assets and awarded the wife alimony at the rate of $1,500 per month until she reached 65. The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Among other things, he argued that the award of alimony was not appropriate.

On the alimony issue, the husband argued that the wife was fully capable of supporting herself with her nursing degree and monetary assets. He, on the other hand, was unable to work due to his disabilities.

The appeals court looked at the relevant statutory factors, and noted that the most important factors were need and ability to pay.

The court then applied the factors to this case. It first noted that the wife was educated, but would need additional education to update her nursing license. Her only assets were those that she received from the marriage termination. She had contributed substantially to the marriage as a homemaker and as a caretaker for her husband after his disability.

After carefully reviewing all of the evidence, the Court of Appeals held that the lower court had acted within its discretion in setting alimony at $1500 per month. On the other hand, it rejected the wife’s claim that she was entitled to a greater amount.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed.

No. E2014-00922-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 27, 2015).

See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, read Tennessee Alimony Law.