TN Dr. w/ Child Out of Wedlock Can’t Afford $1,700/Mo Alimony

Tennessee law case summary on alimony in Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  Trial court’s alimony award overturned.

Shandra Kay Hattaway v. Kevin Todd Hattaway – Tennessee Divorce & Alimony Law – 19 Years Married

Shandra Hattaway, Wife, and Kevin Hattaway, Husband, married in December of 1991. The Wife worked as a hair stylist to support the family while the Husband went to medical school. In 1994, the couple had their first child and, at that time, the Wife stopped working outside of the home. In 1996, the Husband went to work as a family practitioner. In 1999, the Husband was required to pay child support for a child fathered out of wedlock during the marriage.

In 2000, the Husband started his own family medical practice, but he began looking for other work in Colorado in 2009 after coming frustrated with his limited income. He found employment as a doctor within the military and moved to Colorado in 2010.

In April of 2010, the Wife filed divorce on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct and irreconcilable differences. In June of 2010, the court awarded the Wife temporary support of $1,000 per month. In October of the same year, the court granted the Husband parenting time every other weekend. In November, the court approved the sale of the medical practice for $11,414. These funds and those from the sale of silver where to be deposited with the court clerk for division at a later date.

The case was heard in April of 2011. In1995, the Wife testified, she earned $12,000. This was the last time she worked outside of the home. She also stated the Husband moved out of the home without warning or explanation in June of 2010. She sought divorce because of the multiple affairs he had. She stated that, although the Husband was encouraged to see the kids anytime he wanted to that he only did about 20 times, most of which were an hour to 90 minutes in length.

Since August of 2010, the Wife worked at the YMCA childcare program for up to 30 hours per week. For the first three months, she earned $2,077.35. The previous years, she received a W-2 from the Husband’s medical practice. She explained that she did not actually perform work there, but at his request, she came into the office for an hour or two in the morning because he was trying to manipulate his income so he would not have to pay as much child support for his other child.

The Wife stated she was pursuing a radiology degree, which she believes will allow her to earn an income of $30,000 a year, but she needed to do some remedial classes prior to beginning her curriculum. The program was a 2-year schedule. The entire process would take her about five years to complete during which she planned to continue working at the YMCA.

The Husband stated that the Wife’s account of how she came to the office was not accurate and that she was actually the office manager. She quit in early 2009. The Husband testified he increased his own income by the amount he had been paying the Wife. He stated the Wife could work at least full time at minimum wage and stated he doubted she could complete the radiology program due to her learning problems.

He stated he moved to Colorado because the job was more stable, though he earned about the same from it, and that job did not have any call responsibilities. He stated that the Wife did not want to move to Colorado and, even though she could find employment opportunities there, she refused.

The trial court issued a memorandum opinion in April of 2011, which ended the couple’s nearly 20-year marriage. It found the Husband at fault for the divorce. The court awarded the Wife $1,700 in rehabilitative alimony for 96 months with specifications that it would not be considered alimony in solido. The Husband appealed this decision.

The appeals court noted that the Husband pointed out various discrepancies in the statements of income reported by the wife, which the court agreed with. It noted that although the Wife’s expenses listed housing at $1,200 per month and $1,000 per month in food costs, this did not include the costs associated with continuing education. According to the appeals court’s calculations, the Wife’s expenses amounted to $5,000 per month. Child support and the income from the Wife resulted in a deficient of $2,742 per month.

The Husband stated he does not have the ability to pay $1,700 per month and the appeals court agreed. The Husband’s expenses were, including child support for the other child, $4,781 and his income was $7,376. This does not account for the $1,566 in COBRA payments for the Wife or child support for the remaining children. The appeals court ruled that this was in excess of what he could afford and remanded the case for further classification to the lower court.

No. M2011-01165-COA-R3-CV, (Tenn. Ct. App. May 16, 2012).

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, prenuptial agreements, child custody, parental relocation, child support modification, alimony modification, and divorces including business valuation and forensic accounting issues.  A Memphis divorce attorney from the Miles Mason Family Law Group can help. Contact the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC at 901-683-1850.