If you’re concerned about paying or receiving alimony after your divorce, you should familiarize yourself with the factors a judge will consider in making an award of alimony. There are several factors established by Tennessee law, and you can help build a case for or against alimony by providing your attorney with information and evidence related to the factors listed below.

Alimony/Spousal support is addressed in Tennessee Code Annotated §36-5-121(i), which states:

In determining whether the granting of an order for payment of support and maintenance to a party is appropriate, and in determining the nature, amount, length, term, and manner of payment, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including:

(1) The relative earning capacity, obligations, needs, and financial resources of each party, including income from pension, profit sharing or retirement plans and all other sources;

(2) The relative education and training of each party, the ability and opportunity of each party to secure such education and training, and the necessity of a party to secure further education and training to improve such party’s earnings capacity to a reasonable level;

** Provide your attorney with evidence about your earning capacity, educational history, job history, special training, etc. Provide similar information about your spouse, to prove her or she has great earning potential.

(3) The duration of the marriage;

** The length of your marriage can impact the monthly amount of alimony paid or the duration of the alimony obligation.

(4) The age and mental condition of each party;

(5) The physical condition of each party, including, but not limited to, physical disability, incapacity due to a chronic debilitating disease;

(6) The extent to which it would be undesirable for a party to seek employment outside the home, because such party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage;

(7) The separate assets of each party, both real and personal, tangible and intangible;

(8) the provisions made with regard to the marital property, as defined in 36-4-121;

** The final division of marital property will be taken into consideration when establishing alimony.

(9) The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;

(10) the extent to which each party has made such tangible and intangible contributions to the marriage as monetary and homemaker contributions, and tangible and intangible contributions by a party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other party;

(11) The relative fault of the parties, in cases where the court, in its discretion, deems appropriate to do so; and

(12) Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party, as are necessary to consider the equities between the parties.

Make sure you provide your attorney with information related to any of these factors the court will consider. If you are concerned about paying or receiving alimony, contact our office today to schedule a free consultation to discuss how you can best protect yourself.

We serve the following counties in Middle Tennessee (this is not an exhaustive list): Davidson, Williamson, Maury, Rutherford, Cannon, Warren, Wilson, Sumner, Montgomery, Cheatham, and Robertson