Wife Retains Inheritance After 56 Year Marriage

The husband and wife in this Bradley County, Tennessee, case had been married for 56 years before their 2021 separation, based upon their adult granddaughter’s accusation that the husband had touched her inappropriately.  The husband was charged criminally, the husband spent $25,000 in marital funds for his legal defense, and pleaded guilty.  The wife filed for divorce based upon inappropriate marital conduct, and the case proceeded before Judge Michael J. Dumitru.  At the time of trial, the husband was 76 and the wife, 72.

The wife testified that these events destroyed part of her identity, and she went to live with her adult son.

The husband had worked in manufacturing and retired in 2014.  The wife had worked as a cashier, administrative assistant, and judicial assistant, and retired in 2005.  The wife had health issues, and neither was able to return to the workforce.  After retirement, the parties lived off social security and retirement benefits.

In 2016, the wife’s mother gave a gift that the parties referred to as in inheritance, of about $134,000.  This was deposited into an annuity.  In 2017, the wife also received an inheritance of $41,000, which was deposited into the joint account.

The trial court determined that the $134,000 was wife’s separate property, with the balance of that annuity account being joint property.

The trial court traced the $41,000 and determined that $29,000 was the wife’s separate property, since she used that amount to purchase a vehicle.  The remainder of that gift was mingled with marital assets and held to be marital property.

The trial court also ordered the husband to pay $1000 per month alimony in futuro.  After final judgment, the husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The husband first argued that the $134,000 and the $29,000 should have been  treated as marital property.  But the appeals court said that the record “left no doubt” that the monies were gifts to the wife.  Even though the money was initially deposited into the joint account, the wife insisted that they purchase a separate annuity.  She kept those funds segregated after the annuity matured.  Therefore, the trial court properly traced the money and it kept its separate character.

Similarly, it found that the $29,000 was traced to the vehicle, and the appeals court was “disinclined to second-guess the trial court on the issue of the 7-year-old minivan.”  For that reason, it affirmed the property division.

As for the alimony, the Court of Appeals also affirmed.  It noted that the wife could not seek employment and that she had chronic health problems.  Based upon all of the evidence, it held that the award was proper.

The wife requested attorney fees both for the trial court proceedings and the appeal, but this request was denied.  The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court and taxed costs of appeal to the husband.

No. E2024-01486-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 8, 2025).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.

To learn more, see Property Division in Tennessee Divorce and view our video Is Tennessee a 50 50 divorce state?

To learn more, see Commingling Money & Assets with Marital Property in Tennessee Divorce.

To learn more, see Alimony Law in Tennessee, and our video, How is alimony decided in Tennessee?