TN Husband Must Borrow $98,000 for Alimony to Wife of 25 Yrs
Alimony Tennessee law case summary following 25 years of marriage. Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Joann A. Boyatt v. Boyce Wayne Boyatt – Tennessee Alimony Case – 25 year marriage.
In the case of Boyatt vs. Boyatt, the husband appealed the decision of a lower court to provide alimony to the wife in their divorce. The wife filed for divorce in June 2004 after a 25-year marriage on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct and the two had irreconcilable differences. The husband also claimed irreconcilable differences, inappropriate marital conduct and adultery against the wife. The court brought the case to a bench trial in May of 2006. At the time, the wife was 57 and the husband was 61. The two had one adult child.
The wife has a tenth grade education and did not lay claim to the two tracts of land the husband and his brother own. During the marriage, the wife worked for various companies and in various positions, including working as an assembly line worker for Hartco. She stopped working in 2002 due to health problems including having gone through 10 to 11 major operations. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. At the time of leaving her job, she cashed out a $9,000 pension plan, which was used to improve the home.
After separation, the wife lived in the marital home and the husband paid temporary support of $428 a month. Without any form of income and only $200 in the bank, and no place else to live, the wife was dependent on the husband’s support.
The couple’s marital property included the home, valued at $98,000, half-interest in 21 acres of land owned by the husband and brother valued at $175,000 with equity of $93,000 and a 20-acre tract of land valued at $140,000.
The wife had no part in the husband’s business, called Boyatt Brothers Excavating, a business owned by the husband and his brothers. The husband’s personal assets were at $1.2 million and liabilities at $528,000, which equated to a net worth of $665,000, including equipment for the business. The husband said he was planning to quit his position due to impending health issues. The husband also drew $945 a month in a military disability benefit he received for service in Vietnam. His weekly salary was $440 per week from the business. His monthly income was $2,705.
In 2008, the trial court heard additional information that the husband has since paid down his bank loans by $280,000 including paying off the marital home loan. The gross income for 2006 for the husband was $974,652 and in 2007 was $781,569. The husband’s net income averaged $30,000 per year. The lower court awarded the wife alimony in solido, the marital residence and half of the husband’s disability check. This included a payment of $98,000.
In appeal, the husband appealed the decision of awarding the wife half of the VA disability benefit. The court’s specific wording was that the husband was to pay a “sum equal to one-half” of the military disability pay but the husband says such payments are not to be used for alimony purposes. The appeals court affirmed the decision of the lower court noting that there is no such law and that the court did not award the military disability payment directly, but a payment that is equal to one-half of it.
Chancery Court for Scott County, No. E2008-00934-COA-R3-CV, Filed May 18, 2009.
Disclaimer: See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
Memphis divorce lawyer, Miles Mason, Sr., JD, CPA practices family law exclusively and is founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC, which handles Tennessee family law matters including divorce, child support, alimony, and alimony modification. The firm represents clients in Germantown, Collierville, and the surrounding west Tennessee area.
