Tennessee Wife Gets No Monthly Alimony After Getting House
Tennessee alimony law case summary following 38 years of marriage. Divorce and alimony law from the Court of Appeals.
Sheila Christine Jones Calloway v. Willard Randall Calloway – Tennessee alimony 38 years married.
The husband and wife in this Tennessee divorce case were married in 1975 and had three children, all of whom were adults at the time of their 2014 divorce in Roane County. The trial court granted the divorce to the wife on the grounds of the husband’s adultery. Initially, the trial court divided the marital residence, but then awarded the husband’s half to the wife as alimony in solido. The trial court also awarded the wife alimony in future and attorney’s fees. The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The wife had earned her education degrees during the marriage and worked as a teacher starting in 1983. The husband had only a high school education, and the wife testified that he had a drinking problem early in the marriage and committed adultery. The husband stopped drinking in 1990 and went to welding inspector school. In 2012, the wife’s income was $54,000, and the husband’s was $113.000.
In 2012, the marriage began to have problems again. Ultimately, the husband moved out to his own apartment. The trial court granted the divorce and valued the residence at between $400,000 and $500,000. In giving the husband’s share to the wife, the trial court noted the husband’s higher income. The trial court also awarded the wife $200 per month alimony until the age of 65, as well as $6,000 in attorney’s fees.
The appeals court first looked at the propriety of awarding the wife the husband’s interest in the property. It looked to the statutory factors to be used in making any alimony decision, and concentrated on the relative earning capacities of the parties. It did note that the wife was the economically disadvantaged spouse due to her lower earning capacity. The husband argued that his income fluctuated from year to year, but the appeals court concluded that even taking these fluctuations into account, the award of half the house as alimony was proper.
The appeals court then turned to the issue of whether the ongoing alimony of $200 was proper. It noted that the husband was 59, and even though he currently had a higher income, this was unlikely to continue for many more years. It noted that much of his prior income had come from overtime hours.
Since the wife had already received the interest in the house, the appeals court held that the wife was no longer the economically disadvantaged spouse. Therefore, it reversed the award of monthly alimony.
The court also looked at the award of attorney fees. It considered the fact that the wife had received the house, and once again held that she was no longer economically disadvantaged. Therefore, it reversed the award of attorney’s fees.
For these reasons, the appeals court affirmed in part and reversed in part.
No. E2014-00558-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 26, 2014).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, read Tennessee Alimony Law.
