After 20 years of marriage to a physician, the wife is entitled to alimony
Tennessee alimony divorce case summary after 20 years married.
Wife entitled to alimony after 20 year marriage.
Catherine Wolte Pallekonda v. Vinay Anand Raj Pallekonda
The parties in this Madison County, Tennessee, case were in their 50s and had been married for almost twenty years at the time of their divorce. The wife was a registered nurse in the early years of the marriage but stopped working as one after the mid-2000s, based on a mutual agreement. The wife took care of her father’s illness and their children. The couple had two children, including one with special needs. In the same year, the couple moved to Tennessee. While the case was pending the husband had to pay temporary spousal maintenance of $13,000 to the wife. The trial court determined that his earning capacity was $36,000 per year and ordered him pay $9000 per monthly for 72 months. This would be followed by $7000 per monthly alimony in the future. The husband appealed the decision to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The first argument was that the lower court made a mistake in determining his earning capacity. His salary was only $27,000 per annum. Essentially, the lower court had made a finding of voluntary underemployment.
While the husband testified that he didn’t want to work as he had before, the appeals court noted that he had a long track record of higher earnings. The appeals court determined that all the evidence supported the lower courts findings.
The next argument was that, while an award for rehabilitative support might have been appropriate, the evidence did no support an award for alimony in future.
The appeals court cited statutory factors and cited husband’s argument about the wife’s ability to rehabilitate.
But, the appeals found that the record supported this award. The appeals court found that the record supported the award. It cited the statutory factors governing alimony and cited the husband’s argument that the wife was able to rehabilitate herself. It affirmed the award of alimony.
It remanded the case for any necessary proceedings.
No. W2023-00574-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. Legal citations have been omitted. Legal citations have been omitted.To find out more, visit Alimony Law in Tennessee and watch our video, How does alimony in Tennessee get decided?
