Can’t Review Property Division Without Classification / Valuation Findings
Tennessee case summary on property division in divorce.
Isa Neely Artry v. Lester Ray Artry
Shelby County Courthouse
The husband and wife in this Shelby County, Tennessee, case were married in 1992 and had one adult child. The husband was a firefighter, and the wife worked part time for FedEx. They also owned a styling salon from which the wife derived most of her income.
In 2016, the wife filed for divorce, and both parties ultimately stipulated to a divorce. The issues before the court were interests in various property and alimony. In early 2020, the trial court issued its order. The property was divided, but both parties were denied alimony. After post-trial motions, the husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The appeals court noted that the appeal involved only the distribution of property, and that Tennessee law requires as a prerequisite that the lower court make findings of fact as to whether particular pieces of property are marital or separate. The lower court must also make a determination as to value. Both of these steps must be done prior to the division, and these steps were omitted in this case.
The parties had included statements of the evidence, which might have served as a substitute. However, the two statements differed, and the trial court did not make a ruling as to approval or disapproval of either.
Since the lower court’s order was lacking in this regard, the Court of Appeals vacated the trial court’s orders and remanded the case.
The appeals court’s opinion was authored by Judge Kenny Armstrong.
No. W2020-00224-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 22, 2022).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Property Division in Tennessee Divorce and view our video Is Tennessee a 50 50 divorce state?
