TN Husband Who Earns $63K Must Pay Wife Rehab Alimony $850 /mo. 10 Yrs
Tennessee alimony law case summary following 23 years of marriage. Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Perry Lee Woods v Rose Mary Woods – Tennessee Alimony Law – 23 years of marriage.
In the divorce case of Perry Woods and Rose Woods, the husband appealed the decision of the lower court in the amount and duration of the rehabilitative alimony award given to her. The couple ended their 23 year marriage. They were married in November of 1983, at which time the husband was 30 and the wife was 34. After the marriage, both were employed at General Electric, Inc. The husband left the company in 1985 to work with Nissan. The wife continued with GE through 1999 at which time she worked for The Gap. In July of 2004, the husband filed for divorce alleging inappropriate marital conduct and irreconcilable differences and the wife counter claimed stating the husband also committed adultery. At the time of the divorce, the wife earned $19,309.68 and the husband earned $63,316.00 per year.
The lower court awarded the divorce to the wife due to the husband’s inappropriate marital conduct. It required rehabilitative alimony for $850 per month for 120 months. The husband appealed the decision of the lower court over various elements including the alimony. He contends that the amount and the duration of the award exceed her need and his ability to pay. The trial court must consider all factors when awarding alimony, including the nature, amount, and length. The most important factors in the case was the spouse’s need for alimony and the ability of the spouse to pay.
The appeals court noted the following in regards to the divorce case. The trial court found fault in the husband as the result of the demise of the marriage. It noted the husband’s earning capacity was three times that of the wife’s. The wife’s earning capacity is diminished due to her poor health. Even with an equal division of assets, there is a clear economic disparity between the two. The husband says he cannot pay the amount awarded. The appeals court found that this was unsupported because he failed to provide a statement of income and expenses for the record. He did not dispute, however, the income and expenses of the wife, which amount to a $1,411 per month deficit.
The appeals court ruled that this shows a clear need for rehabilitative alimony. It upheld the decision of the lower court and required the husband to continue to pay $850 for the duration of 120 months as such.
No. M2006-01000-COA-R3-CV, July 26, 2007.
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more about alimony, read Tennessee Alimony Law in Divorce | Answers to FAQs. Also, see the MemphisDivorce.com Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Alimony category.
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. Download our free e-Book, Your First Steps: 7 Steps Planning Your Tennessee Divorce.
