Lawyer wins another day in Divorce Court
Tennessee case summary on alimony and child support in divorce.
Court must recompute alimony and child support.
Daniel Seth Holliday v. Elizabeth Frances Holliday
The husband and wife in this Hamilton County, Tennessee, case were married in 2003 and had two children. The husband, who is an attorney, filed for a divorce in 2022, citing irreconcilable disagreements and inappropriate marital behavior. The wife, a paralegal by profession, last worked outside of the home in 2018. The husband reported a monthly salary of $31,000 but claimed expenses exceeding $36,000. The wife reported no monthly income, but expenses of more than $16,000.
In the year 2023, both parties agreed on a parenting plan that would grant joint custody and equal parenting times. The court ordered the husband to pay child maintenance and addressed alimony. The trial court acknowledged that Tennessee favors rehabilitative support, but found that the wife’s earning capacity was not sufficient to maintain a standard of living throughout the marriage. The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The husband appealed the decision to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
On issues of child support, alimony and self-employment tax, the husband claimed that the trial court failed to take into account the amount of tax he was required to pay.
The guidelines for child support state that these amounts should be deducted and provide a worksheet to do so. The appeals court reversed this decision and agreed with the husband. After arguing about other issues, the man also argued the lower court should’ve imputed income for the wife. The court ruled that the lower court must address the question on remand of whether or not the wife is voluntarily underemployed and, if so to impute her income. The appeals court dealt quickly with this.
Since his ability to pay alimony was affected by the change in child maintenance, this would also need recomputed when he is remanded.
