Husband’s appeal is dismissed when he fails to follow rule in brief

Tennessee case summary on property classification and division in divorce.

Husband’s appeal tossed out when he fails to follow rule requiring table of assets of separate and marital property in brief.

Laura Adams v. Timothy Adams, Sr.

The wife in this Robertson County, Tennessee, case filed for divorce after about two years of marriage. She also sought an order for protection. She filed an ex parte petition a month after filing her divorce case. She claimed that her husband had fired a gun through her windshield, just missing her ear. The case revolved around a rental property located in Lawrence County. The husband had purchased the rental property before the marriage with retirement funds. She also testified that she would “go down there” with her husband to the property and had paid the property taxes online using funds from their joint account. She also testified that she would “go down there” to the property along with her husband, and she had paid the property taxes online with funds from their joint account.

The trial court, Judge Adrienee G. Fry, held that funds had been inextricably comingled, such that the property became a marital asset. It awarded 40% to the wife, and the husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.Unfortunately for the husband, he had failed to follow a rule of the Court of Appeals. The brief should always include a table that lists all separate and marital assets. It affirmed the lower courts judgment and remanded this case. It also assessed the appeal costs against the husband.