TN Mom & Dad from Philippines Last 5 Yrs | Alimony Remanded
Tennessee alimony law case summary following 5 years of marriage. Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Analiza P. Burnett v. David Mark Burnett – Alimony Law in TN
In this situation, the husband was working for an American corporation in the Philippines when he met the wife in 1995. The wife obtained a marriage visa in 1998 and moved to California with the child to live with the husband. The couple signed a prenuptial agreement. In 2003, both parties filed for divorce. The trial court awarded the wife with alimony in futuro while also requiring the husband to pay the parties’ marital debt, child support and the wife’s medical insurance and expenses. The husband appealed the award of alimony.
The husband was employed by FedEx in a sales position. In the agreement to get married, to allow the wife to move to the U.S. with the daughter, who the husband wanted to raise in the U.S., the husband provided a prenuptial agreement to protect his current and future assets. The agreement lists specific assets protected under the agreement. Not included was the husband’s income from FedEx.
No specific information was available as to any specific event that triggered the divorce. The wife listed monthly expenses of $4,602 including the cost for mortgage payments on the marital home. The wife did not work outside of the home and had no income. The wife sought $2,500 per month in rehabilitative alimony for 42 months and alimony in futuro in the form of medical and prescription drug coverage.
The husband listed his monthly expenses as $7,220 including mortgage payments, debts and other costs. He proposed child support payments of $959 per month. His monthly salary was $4,829 not including bonuses. The husband argued he should pay rehabilitative alimony of $400 per month for three years plus transitional alimony in the form of mortgage payments for five years.
At the time of the trial, the wife was 36 years old and her first job within the country was a sales clerk in a department store that she was fired from. Though she went to cosmetology school, she developed allergies to the substances and could not obtain the licensing required. The wife was working as a waitress earning $3.50 per hour plus tips and worked for Northwest Airlines making $6.25 per hour in the evenings. The husband was 45 years old at the time of the trial.
In its ruling, the lower court ruled that the husband pay spousal support since the wife had no marketable job skills and was limited by language difficulties, educational background and taking care of the children. The trial court noted that without support, the wife and children would be destitute and candidates for welfare. The court found, based on the current income of the husband, that he earned $10,649 per month on average. It ordered the husband to pay $4,255 per month as alimony in futuro as well as full health care benefits.
The husband appealed the award of spousal support. He believed the trial court erred in its determine that the wife had no income, skills and could not be rehabilitated. He also claimed the court awarded more money than the wife needed and the husband’s income and earning capacity. In the issue of income, the trial court calculated the wife’s income as zero not taking into account her earnings as a waitress and other part-time job. The appeals court ruled that her meager earnings did warrant support. The court stated she could not be rehabilitated and proof of this was in her failed other positions.
Also argued by the husband was the presence of the prenuptial agreement which he says limits spousal support, though the appeals court ruled it was eligible to award alimony in futuro. The appeals court did remand the amount of support back to the lower court for recalculation noting that the husband’s requirements to pay child support, alimony, debts, car payment and other coverage for the wife.
Circuit Court for Shelby County, No. W2007-00038-COA-R3-CV, March 19, 2008.
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
Memphis divorce lawyer, Miles Mason, Sr. practices family law exclusively and is the founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC, which handles Tennessee family law matters including divorce, alimony, alimony modification, child support, and child support modification. Also, see the MemphisDivorce.com Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Alimony category. Also, download the free e-Book, Your First Steps: 7 Steps Planning Your Tennessee Divorce.
