Tennessee courts seldom award alimony today, but under the proper circumstances they will award alimony to either party -- yes husbands can get alimony.return to Jes Beard's home page at http://www.jesbeard.com/The party seeking alimony must generally show a lengthy marriage, that they would be unable to support themselves, that the other party can support them, and that the reason they can't support themselves is that they stayed home and took care of the house or the kids while the husband/wife was out acquiring the skills or work history allowing them to earn a significant income. Even then the court must generally be convinced that while there is little in the way of marital property to divide (giving the bulk to the spouse with limited earning potential) the party who would have to pay the alimony has significant earnings potential. A court can look at most of the same factors considered in dividing the property, but in the case of alimony the court can consider who was at fault in the marriage, as well as who took care of any children of the marriage.
It is important to remember, however, that while a court is allowed to consider fault as a factor in awarding alimony, alimony is not and never has been intended to be punitive. Lancaster, 671 S.W.2d at 503, and McClung v. McClung, 198 S.W.2d 820, 822 (1947). Courts have also made clear that it is not intended simply as an award for virtue.
Trial courts have broad discretion to determine whether spousal support is needed and, if so, its nature, amount, and duration. See Garfinkel v. Garfinkel, 945 S.W.2d 744, 748 (Tenn. Ct. App.1996); Jones v. Jones, 784 S.W.2d 349, 352 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1989). The two most important factors in considering alimony, are the demonstrated need of the disadvantaged spouse and the obligor spouse's ability to pay. See Kinard v. Kinard, 986 S.W.2d 220 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998). Alimony is not intended to provide a former spouse with relative financial ease, but the award must be made in such a way that the spouses approach equity. Long v. Long, 968 S.W.2d at 292, 295 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997). Alimony is not designed to serve as an annuity for the wife; the "purpose of alimony is to care for the (disadvantaged spouse's) needs after divorce, not to provide (the spouse) with a life-time profit-sharing plan." Umstot v. Umstot, Unpublished Tenn App WS Sept 27, 1997.
The court can award either permanent alimony or temporary/rehabilitative alimony, which is generally to help a spouse go back to school or to otherwise help them acquire the skills needed to earn a reasonable income.
Alimony ends as soon as the party getting it remarries, and courts usually end it as soon if the party getting it begins living with someone of the opposite sex.
The general tendency of Tennessee courts is to award rehabilitative alimony or a fixed length of time to help a spouse get back on his or her feet, and even then courts award alimony to relatively few parties asking for it.
In awarding alimony, or deciding whether to award alimony, Tennessee courts are to look at the following factors, set forth at TCA 36-5-101.:
You will sometimes hear judges and attorneys refer to alimony as being either "alimony in solido" or "alimony in futuro." Alimony in solido is simply a lump sum awarded as alimony, made after the trial court determines the equitable division of the property; it is awarded when the trial court determines that one spouse will need more than the property to support him or her self. Alimony in futuro is alimony to be paid as continuing support, generally in monthly payments, and does not automatically terminate after a given length of time or after a certain amount has been paid.
(A) The relative earning capacity, obligations, needs, and financial resources of each party, including income from pension, profit sharing or retirement plans and all other sources;
(B) The relative education and training of each party, the ability and opportunity of each party to secure such education and training, and the necessity of a party to secure further education and training to improve such party's earning capacity to a reasonable level;
(C) The duration of the marriage;
(D) The age and mental condition of each party;
(E) The physical condition of each party, including, but not limited to, physical disability or incapacity due to a chronic debilitating disease;
(F) The extent to which it would be undesirable for a party to seek employment outside the home because such party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage;
(G) The separate assets of each party, both real and personal, tangible and intangible;
(H) The provisions made with regard to the marital property;
(I) The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;
(J) The extent to which each party has made such tangible and intangible contributions to the marriage as monetary and homemaker contributions, and tangible and intangible contributions by a party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other party;
(K) The relative fault of the parties in cases where the court, in its discretion, deems it appropriate to do so; and
(L) Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party, as are necessary to consider the equities between the parties.The propriety of awarding alimony as well as the adequacy of the amount awarded depends upon the unique facts of each case. Butler v. Butler, 680 S.W.2d 467, 470 (Tenn. App. 1984). The amount of alimony to be awarded is a matter for the trial court's discretion in view of the particular circumstances of the case, and the appellate courts are not inclined to alter the awards except where the record reflects that such discretion has been abused. Gilliam v. Gilliam, 776 S.W.2d 81, 86 (Tenn. App. 1988). In other words what the "proper amount" is, the type of alimony awarded, the length of time it is to be paid, and whether is is awarded at all can vary widely from one judge to another, even if the evidence presented were identical. It is only when a judge goes so far as to "abuse discretion" that a higher court will change things on appeal. Despite that broad discretion, the clear trend in Tennessee is away from permanent alimony and toward only awards of rehabilitative alimony, to provide temporary help in adjusting for one spouse who is clearly economically disadvantaged compared to the other spouse.
Under the statutory guidelines permanent alimony is only supposed to be awarded when there is both a "relative economic disadvantage" and "rehabilitation is not feasible."
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