Alimony in Futuro – 2011 Ruling from Tennessee Supreme Court

On September 16th, 2011, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled on a case that all family law and divorce attorneys have been waiting for. I have posted the Supreme Court Ruling in its entirety here, including a link to the PDF summary of the case from the Office of the TN Courts.

The case, Gonsewiskii vs Gonsewiskii, is now the leading case regarding alimony in the State of Tennessee. It iinvolves a divorce and the issue of Alimony in Futuro, or what is commonly called permanent alimony. In this case, or Supreme Court denies the wife permanent alimony – from my perspective a very rational decision by our Court.

Abbreviated Facts of the Alimony Case

Both were 43 years old. They had a 21-year marriage. The wife earned $70,000/year and worked during the entire marriage. The husband earned $130,000/year, $30,000 of which was bonus pay. The husband agreed to give the wife a divorce based on grounds of inappropriate conduct (he had an affair). Children were grown, husband was paying for daughter’s college education.

The Court held there is no absolute formula for determining alimony but NEED for the spouse requesting alimony as the “single most important” factor. Also, no attorney fees for the wife. Both parties contributed to ongoing litigation even arguing over payment of a $17.29 bill for a driveway repair!

Sounds to me like everyone involved was sick to death of these people and their fighting!

For the full opinion of the Judges in the ruling, click the link below (PDF):
http://www.tncourts.giv/sites/default/files/gonsewskii_opn.pdf