How to Get Divorced in Tennessee: Divorce 101

Are you wondering if there is a Divorce 101 course that will teach you the basics of how to get divorced in Tennessee? Yes, and you have come to the right place. Welcome to Divorce 101: How to Get Divorced in Tennessee.

Divorce 101: How To Get Divorced in Tennessee

The first question many clients ask is how does a divorce get started. Who does what and why? Domestic relations cases, including divorce, are unique in that they are civil lawsuits involving families, spouses, parents, and children. Figuratively, divorce invites the court into the home. Not surprisingly, passions often run high in these cases, too.

In every divorce, there are two opposing parties. The first party files a Complaint for Divorce and the second party responds to that complaint. Without exception, a spouse should consult an attorney before legal proceedings begin. Although the Tennessee divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, and property division information on this website is a great place to start, it cannot replace specific legal advice from an experienced family lawyer.

To Settle or Not to Settle Your Tennessee Divorce

Every couple will have a different courtroom experience depending upon the issues raised, but the overall divorce process is reasonably predictable. Essentially, there are two ways to get a divorce in Tennessee. Either the spouses settle or they go to trial. For many reasons, including the potential cost of litigation, almost all divorcing spouses want to settle.

Wanting to settle disputes and actually settling them are two different things entirely. Settlement is a process in itself. An attorney’s experience with divorce negotiations and divorce mediation is important. Experience matters. Sometimes agreements are arrived at fairly easily, often because the spouses were not far apart in what each wanted. By way of example, say that a Memphis, Tennessee, couple in their 30s with three children owns two vehicles: a new two-door sedan with a lien and a four-year-old minivan that is lien free. Each expects to be allocated one vehicle, but which one? When the spouses initiate negotiations, each takes the position that he or she should get the new sedan. But after attending mediation and looking more rationally into their individual driving needs, who will be the Primary Residential Parent (PRP), insurance costs, safety, fuel economy, and monthly car payments, an agreement is reached. They settle on the high-earning spouse taking the new sedan along with the car payments, and the economically disadvantaged PRP taking the minivan free and clear.

Getting Started with Tennessee Divorce

Tennessee divorce is manageable, especially if both spouses grasp divorce as a process with many steps. Divorce has a clear beginning; a middle with many possible directions; and an end with the judge issuing final orders and dissolving the marriage. Be mindful that settlement negotiations often begin before the divorce is filed.

Recommended reading: Be sure to download Your First Steps: 7 Steps Planning Your Tennessee Divorce | Free eBook and get started reading these introductory materials for Divorce 101: How to Get Divorced in Tennessee.

Step One: Initiating Divorce in Tennessee

The court process begins with one spouse (the plaintiff) filing a Complaint for Divorce with the clerk of the court. The complaint alleges legal grounds for divorce and is a request that the court terminate the marriage. The plaintiff also includes a request for relief regarding alimony, child custody and child support, the division of property, and a name change. The statements in the complaint include statistical details and indentifying information about both spouses, their children, assets, debts, and so on.

Importantly, a mandatory injunction automatically goes into effect when the complaint is filed. This injunction prohibits harassment of a spouse, transfer or sale of assets, allowing health insurance coverage to lapse for nonpayment of premiums, among other actions. Both spouses must comply with the mandatory injunction (failure to do so may result in proceedings for civil or criminal contempt).

Recommended reading: For information on the scope of the mandatory injunction in Tennessee divorce, read up on Tennessee’s Automatic Injunction.

Step Two: Service of Process on the Other Spouse

The plaintiff has the responsibility of serving the court papers (the summons and complaint) on the other spouse – this is known as service of process. Service is a very important step in the lawsuit. The case will be dismissed without prejudice if the other spouse (the defendant or respondent) is not served. The other spouse must be served with notice of the divorce and be given the opportunity to be heard.

With a military divorce, service of process is often more complicated. The service member might be deployed at the time the complaint is filed. A federal law, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), protects active duty service members who may not be able to respond to a civil lawsuit because of their military duties.

Step Three: The Other Spouse’s Responsive Pleading

After being served with the divorce papers, the other spouse files a responsive pleading as an answer and, frequently, a counter-complaint. Say, for example, the complaint alleged “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct” as grounds for divorce. The respondent may allege a different ground – “adultery” by the plaintiff – as the basis for divorce in his or her counter-complaint, and deny any inappropriate marital conduct in the answer.

With most Tennessee divorces the other spouse will file a responsive pleading. But he or she is not required to do so. Even when the other spouse was actually and properly served with the summons and complaint, he or she cannot be compelled to participate in the divorce process. It is possible that no answer, no responsive pleading, will be filed at all. Choosing not to participate in the divorce process will not stop the judge from dissolving the marriage and ordering child support and alimony, dividing the property, and awarding child custody and parenting time. Talk to a lawyer about the risks associated with a default judgment of divorce.

Recommended reading: Take a few minutes now to read about The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish and watch a YouTube video on keeping costs down by Memphis attorney Miles Mason, Sr.

Step Four: Exchanging Information Early in the Tennessee Divorce

If the spouses do not engage in settlement negotiations right away, then discovery is next. The discovery phase of divorce can be as simple or complex as the marital estate involved. As a rule of thumb, the more intensive the discovery process is, the more time it takes to complete, and the more it will cost the parties.

Why request discovery? Discovery requests are used to get all the spouses’ relevant financial, medical, educational, and historical details on the table. Interrogatories of the parties will need to be conducted (if they have not been done already). Interrogatories are a detailed set of questions which must be answered under oath and subject to the criminal penalty of perjury. A request for production of documents initiates an exchange of requested materials. Depositions of key fact witnesses and expert witnesses are conducted. Mandatory pre-trial disclosures about money and financial matters are made. This is when the parties begin preparing for trial in earnest. There are discovery time limits that must be complied with, too. For example, documents must be provided within 30 days of a request for production. If the couple has minor children, then both parents are required to file a proposed permanent parenting plan 45 days before trial.

Step Five: Property Division and Tennessee Alimony

In every Tennessee divorce, marital property must be divided equitably between the spouses (not necessarily equally, though). So it should not be surprising that financial information about the couple’s assets and debts is a focus of discovery. The division of property will entail indentifying each item, from pensions to patents, and placing a fair market value on it. Some property interests are more difficult to assess than others. For example, a professional practice (dental, law, architectural, medical, accounting) or other business, including a Mom & Pop Shop, often require valuation by a forensic accountant (Certified Public Accountant).

Tennessee alimony is another important financial consideration in divorce. There are four different possibilities under Tennessee alimony law: Alimony in Solido (Lump Sum Alimony), Alimony in Futuro (Periodic Alimony), Rehabilitative Alimony, and Transitional Alimony.

Recommended reading: If you have general questions about alimony, visit Tennessee Alimony Law in Divorce | Answers to FAQs. On allocating assets and debts, read about Property Division in Tennessee Divorce.

Do the spouses have minor children?

Step Six: Children of Tennessee Divorce

Do the spouses have minor children? That question represents the main bifurcation in any divorce. If your answer is “Yes,” then do take time to learn more about child custody and child support in Tennessee divorce. Search this website for answers to questions like the following:

• What is meant by the best interest of the child?
• Can parents share decision making custody?
• What is parenting time?
• How is child support calculated?
• Who is the Primary Residential Parent for child support purposes?
• What is a permanent parenting plan (PPP)?
• Might a child advocate be appointed?
• What is a child custody evaluation for?
• Can child custody orders be modified later?
• May a parent relocate with the child?

Recommended reading: For real-life examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets, obtain your copy of Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family, by Miles Mason, Sr. (available on Kindle).

Step Seven: Trial

If the spouses have exhausted all attempts at settlement, to no avail. If negotiations with the assistance of their attorneys has not resolved all the issues. If mediation, as an alternative to litigation and trial, has failed to result in agreement. Then trial becomes necessary.

Recommended reading: For an overview of the entire process, including divorce or child custody trial, obtain your copy of The Tennessee Divorce Client’s Handbook: What Every Divorcing Spouse Needs to Know, also available on Kindle.

Why Is It So Important To Try and Settle?

There are many benefits to reaching a settlement before a trial is held. Generally, settlement costs less than a trial. Trials can be very stressful, too, and hard on the children. Perhaps the most important benefit of settlement is that the spouses maintain control over their circumstances – their financial future and the relationship they will have with their kids.

Although there may be similarities from one case to the next, every family is unique. With divorce imminent, it is incumbent upon both spouses, with the assistance of their attorneys, to negotiate, mediate, and work out as many of their differences as is possible. Not just a one off, but to keep trying to work through their conflicts until they have a settlement. Only when they have exhausted every possibility should they turn to the judge and trial to determine what will and will not be. Pragmatically, when nine of 10 issues settle, only one remaining dispute is tried. That beats all 10.

In general, divorce negotiations are blend of easy decisions, resistance to change, and total disagreements. With clear disputes, or when spouses are stumped and cannot decide what to do, they’re not automatically queued for a hotly contested divorce trial. There will be many opportunities to resolve issues incrementally and, honestly, last minute settlements on the “courthouse steps” are not unheard of. The closer the parties get to their trial date the more pressure there is to find common ground and abandon untenable positions. Of course, settlement is not attainable in every single case, but, more often than not, spouses are able to completely settle and avoid trial.