No two divorces are alike and, therefore, neither is the amount of alimony awarded. To determine alimony, a judge will look at several factors. Additionally, a judge will also determine how long alimony should last.
The length of time alimony lasts is not the same in every case. However, you will need an experienced family law attorney to advocate on your behalf. If you are getting a divorce , you should hire a skilled family law attorney to represent your case and ensure you receive the best possible results for your case.
At the Law Office of Jody L. Fisher, our attorney has more than 17 years of legal experience and is committed to helping families navigate some of the most sensitive matters. We understand how crucial alimony is in a divorce and will do what we can to obtain a fair arrangement.
While this may be a very subjective determination, the evidence presented can be diverse. When projecting a range of how much a party will pay or receive in alimony, experienced attorneys consider the statutory factors, prior experience with the judge and the other attorney, and written legal opinions for couples in similar financial situations and lengths of marriage.
Any projection is just an educated guess and should never be considered a guarantee. Prior to settlement negotiations, your experienced family law attorney will be able to advise you about a range of outcomes the court may award. If settlement negotiations fail following mediation, then the case heads to trial.
For legal opinions on Tennessee alimony exemplifying various lengths of marriages, see our Tennessee Family Law Blog and its Tennessee Alimony category. You will find divorce case law summaries grouped by length of years married, as follows:. Tennessee law lists factors for consideration. Only a few states have strict formulas. Tennessee does not. While Tennessee law does list factors, there is no strict formula or alimony calculator similar to the child support guidelines.
That will depend upon the type of alimony, purpose of the award, and disparity in earning capacity between the spouses. For example, transitional alimony is designed to help a spouse transition from marriage to becoming self-supporting.
Rehabilitative alimony will be awarded if a spouse needs support, but is capable of earning enough money to live, first, at a standard of living close to that enjoyed during the marriage or, second, to the lifestyle projected to be enjoyed by the other spouse after divorce. Long-term alimony is described as alimony in futuro, or periodic alimony. Before alimony in futuro is awarded, however, a court must determine that the supported spouse is incapable of being rehabilitated.
As a practical matter, most divorces are settled. Which means that, in a vast majority of divorces, the type, length, and amount of alimony is negotiated. The negotiated amount may result from informal negotiations or mediation and is consensual. When a divorce case is not settled, the spouses will proceed to trial.
At trial, the judge hears evidence based on all of the statutory factors and decides the type of alimony awarded, length of term of payments, and the amount. Usually, the judge will specify those circumstances upon which alimony may be modified or terminated.
Usually, that analysis begins by looking at tax returns. All income is considered whether it is taxed or not, including active and passive earnings such as interest, dividends, and capital gains from investments. The Tennessee court can then look at assets likely to be awarded to the supporting spouse, including separate property.
The possible situations of voluntary unemployment are almost endless. A spouse will be considered voluntarily unemployed if he or she quits a job for an unjustifiable reason for example, to move closer to a new love interest. Even if the job loss was involuntary, as with a layoff, failure to make a good faith effort to seek new employment can be considered voluntary unemployment.
During a divorce, courts expect an unemployed spouse to provide documentation of a job search. A spouse who is fired for misconduct could be considered voluntarily unemployed, too.
For example, when a spouse who is terminated for viewing internet pornography on the job or for gaming on an office computer. In cases of employment termination, even when the supporting spouse seeks new employment, the court could still find that spouse voluntarily unemployed. Additionally, a finding of voluntary unemployment could result in imputed income for child support purposes as well.
Quitting work to avoid paying alimony is an example of voluntary unemployment. Alimony is based on earning capacity and not necessarily on actual current earnings. The same applies for child support income determinations. When a spouse is voluntarily unemployed, alimony can be based on imputed income.
The possible circumstances are countless. Determining voluntary underemployment involves comparing past earnings to current earnings and considering all the circumstances. Not long at all. If the marriage was less than a year, the length of support following the divorce will also likely be very short, maybe a few months.
It depends upon the circumstances and each case is unique. As another example in a short-term marriage, if the supported spouse is stricken with a degenerative disease, preventing his or her return to the workforce, then the length of support could be longer than the marriage.
Furthermore, temporary alimony could be awarded even if the marriage lasted less than a year. And it is very common.
Look closely at the factors for alimony. The witnesses most likely to testify regarding each of the factors are the parties to the divorce themselves. Fault means wrong-doing that contributed to the end of the marriage. Courts can assign blame for the failure of a marriage under Tennessee law. Examples of marital fault include cheating, addiction to alcohol or drugs, physical or emotional abuse, and recklessly wasteful spending. Both parties can be determined at fault or one spouse can be found to be primarily responsible for the end of the marriage.
For more information, see:. Fault is a factor the courts will consider in awarding alimony in Tennessee. In general, courts worry less about fault with divorce from short-term marriages less than seven years. For longer term marriages, though, fault can be heavily considered. However, fault is not supposed to be punitive. In theory that means the court should not award alimony to a spouse just because of marital misconduct and should not pile-on an additional amount of money solely because of wrong-doing.
How is that applied in reality? It depends on the judge, the severity of the fault, and the connection between the wrong-doing and the break-up. Generally, if the cheating spouse seeks alimony, then the monthly amount and length of term of payment may be reduced and shortened depending upon the circumstances.
Fault is a factor for the court to consider in determining alimony. Fault is more broadly defined than just adultery or cheating. Fault is a factor for determining alimony. In Tennessee law, there are three defenses to adultery cheating as grounds for divorce: recrimination, condonation, and connivance.
When a defense is proven, the court may not find grounds for divorce or may lessen the effects of fault on the alimony determination. Recrimination involves proving the other spouse also committed adultery. Condonation involves proving that a spouse forgave the adultery by having marital relations after learning of the affair.
These defenses can involve a wide variety of circumstances. If a faithful spouse learns all of the details of an adulterous affair, takes the cheating spouse back and has marital relations, then that faithful spouse could be considered to have forgiven the cheating spouse. A common exception to condonation is if the faithful spouse learns about one extramarital affair, but there were actually two or more affairs.
In that instance, condonation may not apply. Adultery means cheating. Adultery is grounds for divorce and can also be a factor for alimony determination. Adultery can be proven circumstantially, too. In general, there needs to be more than just an emotional relationship. For example, if a couple is getting a divorce and a spouse went with a co-worker to the British Virgin Islands and shared a hotel room, that may be enough to prove adultery for two purposes: grounds for divorce and fault for alimony.
The recipient spouse can initiate legal action to compel payment of alimony. Typically, this involves filing a petition for civil contempt, criminal contempt, or both.
In very general terms, proving contempt requires proof of an order to pay alimony and a willful violation of that order — that is, failure to pay. If the recipient spouse proves the payor spouse has the present ability to pay support, but chooses not to pay, then that is civil contempt.
If the recipient spouse proves the other spouse had the ability to pay at the time payments were due, but chose not to pay, then that is criminal contempt.
In criminal contempt proceedings, the owing spouse has the same rights as a person accused of a crime. With criminal contempt, the person who failed to pay support can be jailed as punishment for that failure to pay.
With civil contempt, the person owing support can be jailed until payments are made. A defense to civil contempt is that the person who failed to pay alimony does not have the present ability to pay support. A defense to criminal contempt is that the person who failed to pay alimony could not have paid at the time payments were due.
In many areas of the state, this is called a motion for pendente lite support. The hearing before the Divorce Referee is a less formal proceeding, but the traditional rules of evidence still apply. If either spouse disagrees with the ruling, then he or she can appeal to the trial judge. Alimony in futuro definition or periodic alimony is long-term alimony awarded when there is a significant disparity in earnings and wealth, and when rehabilitation is not possible.
Tennessee law says that alimony in futuro will be owed when the person receiving support cannot be expected to reach a level of earning capacity to allow a standard of living comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage; or comparable to the post-divorce standard of living enjoyed by the other spouse. Over the last 25 years or so, that aspirational goal of the law has been consistently undercut. In practice, courts are more likely to expect an able-bodied, intelligent spouse to do more on his or her own.
The vast majority of judges are not going to award an amount to make the lifestyles of the parties exactly equal post-divorce. To learn more about the role of lifestyle evidence, read Lifestyle Analysis. Alimony in futuro can be modified by the court upon a showing of a change of circumstances. If the supported spouse lives with a third-party as with cohabitation , then the court may consider this a rebuttable presumption that support may no longer be needed.
To read more about alimony in futuro, see Tennessee Alimony in Futuro Periodic. The judge can order a different amount, a different time, or both, for the following reasons:. See General Laws Chapter , section 53 e. You have the right to an interpreter. You may be able to get free legal help from your local legal aid program. Or email a question about your own legal problem to a lawyer.
How do judges decide about alimony? Show Endnotes Hide Endnotes. How do judges decide the kind of alimony to order? How much alimony can a judge order? The time limits are different for each kind of alimony.
General term time limits Rehabilitative time limits Reimbursement time limits Transitional time limits Are there situations where the time and amount limits do not apply?
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