Crabtree v. Crabtree, 97-00262

Citation16 S.W.3d 356
Decision Date24 April 2000
Docket Number97-00262
PartiesSTEPHEN EARL CRABTREE v. NANCY CHOPPIN CRABTREEIN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE
CourtSupreme Court of Tennessee

Appeal by Permission from the Circuit Court For Davidson County No. 96D-2149

Muriel Robinson, Judge

FOR PUBLICATION

We granted this appeal to address whether a trial court may order concurrent or successive awards of alimony in futuro and rehabilitative alimony in the initial decree of divorce. We hold that the trial court erred in awarding alimony in futuro following a period of rehabilitative alimony. We modify the award of alimony in this case to a single award of rehabilitative alimony in the amount of $2,500 per month for a period of five years. As provided by statute, the trial court will retain jurisdiction for the duration of the rehabilitative alimony award. The awards of attorney's fees are affirmed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Tenn. R. App. P. 11; Judgment of the Court of Appeals Affirmed in Part; Reversed in Part; Modified and Remanded

Mike W. Binkley, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Stephen Earl Crabtree.

Edward M. Yarbrough, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Nancy Choppin Crabtree

HOLDER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ANDERSON, C.J., and DROWOTA, BIRCH, and BARKER, JJ., joined.

OPINION

The parties were married for twenty-three years. Nancy Choppin Crabtree was forty-three years old at the time of the entry of the final decree of divorce. She graduated with highest honors from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and became a certified public accountant. Ms. Crabtree worked two years for the accounting firm of Ernst and Whinney. She then decided to leave her full-time employment position to start a family but continued to work out of her home as a certified public accountant. In the year prior to the divorce, she earned approximately $41,200 per year working thirty hours per week. She had approximately 100 clients.

Stephen Earl Crabtree was a stockbroker at J.C. Bradford. Mr. Crabtree's gross income varied during the six years prior to the divorce.1 At the time of trial in 1997 his net monthly income was $13,582.71, including his partnership distribution. Both Mr. Crabtree and Ms. Crabtree enjoy good health.

The parties are the parents of two daughters. At the time of trial, Elizabeth Lee was nineteen years old and enrolled at Georgetown University. Jennifer Lynn was sixteen years old and enrolled at Harpeth Hall, a private school. Jennifer Lynn was expected to graduate from high school in 1999.

Mr. Crabtree admitted to adultery, and the divorce was granted on the stipulated grounds of inappropriate marital conduct. Mr. Crabtree was awarded marital property valued at approximately $465,000. Ms. Crabtree was awarded marital property valued at approximately $373,000 and child support in the amount of $1,312 per month. The trial court awarded rehabilitative alimony in the amount of $1,700 per month for five years to be followed by alimony in futuro in the amount of $1,200 per month until Ms. Crabtree's death or remarriage. Finally, the trial court ordered Mr. Crabtree to pay $7,500 of Ms. Crabtree's attorney's fees.

Mr. Crabtree appealed the trial court's award of alimony in futuro and the award of attorney's fees. Ms. Crabtree raised an issue regarding child support. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's award of both alimony and attorney's fees but remanded the case on the issue of child support. The appellate court ordered that on remand the trial court should apply the child support guidelines and that any deviation from the guidelines must be supported by written findings. The parties do not appeal this issue. The Court of Appeals also awarded Ms. Crabtree additional attorney's fees incurred on appeal. We granted review to address whether the order of alimony in futuro following a period of rehabilitative alimony in the initial decree was error.

ANALYSIS

Mr. Crabtree argues that the trial court erred in awarding Ms. Crabtree alimony in futuro in addition to rehabilitative alimony. In support of this argument, he contends that she should receive only rehabilitative alimony due to her earning capacity as a certified public accountant.

The alimony and child support statutes are codified at Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101, et. seq. Rehabilitative alimony is addressed in Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101(d) (1992) and provides:

It is the intent of the general assembly that a spouse who is economically disadvantaged, relative to the other spouse, be rehabilitated whenever possible by the granting of an order for payment of rehabilitative, temporary support and maintenance. Where there is such relative economic disadvantage and rehabilitation is not feasible in consideration of all relevant factors, including those set out in this subsection, then the court may grant an order for payment of support and maintenance on a long-term basis or until the death or remarriage of the recipient except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a)(3).

Id. Accordingly, the legislature has demonstrated a preference for an award of rehabilitative alimony to rehabilitate an economically disadvantaged spouse.

The legislature has provided statutory criteria to be employed when determining the appropriate form and duration of spousal support. Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101(d)(1). When determining:

the nature, amount, length of term, and manner of payment, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including:

(A) 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;

(B) 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 earning capacity to a reasonable level;

(C) The duration of the marriage;

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

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

(F) 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;

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

(H) The provision made with regard to the marital property as defined in 36-4-121;

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

(J) 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;

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

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

Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101(d)(1).

This Court previously addressed the application of Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101(d)(1) in Self v. Self, 861 S.W.2d 360 (Tenn. 1993). In Self, we held that 36-5-101 reflects an obvious legislative policy to eliminate the dependency of one ex-spouse upon the other and to relieve the parties of "impediments incident to the dissolved marriage." Id. at 361. Accordingly, alimony in futuro should be awarded only when the trial court finds that "economic rehabilitation is not feasible and long-term support is necessary." Id.

The legislature amended Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101 while the Self appeal was pending in this Court. The amendment permitted modifications of rehabilitative alimony awards and provided:

An award of rehabilitative, temporary support and maintenance shall remain in the court's control for the duration of such award, and may be increased, decreased, terminated, extended, or otherwise modified, upon a showing of substantial and material change in circumstances. . . . The recipient of the support and maintenance shall have the burden of proving that all reasonable efforts at rehabilitation have been made and have been unsuccessful.

Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-101(d)(2) (emphasis added). This amendment, however, was inapplicable to our analysis in Self due to the effective date of the amendment. Nonetheless, we recognized in Self that the amended form of the statute provides courts with the authority to order awards designed to accomplish the rehabilitation of a spouse. Self, 861 S.W.2d at 363. We noted that this provision would allow for a continued monitoring of the parties' circumstances and would provide trial courts with more flexibility in designing suitable financial arrangements for the dissolution of marriages. Id.

In this case, the Court of Appeals recognized that the award of rehabilitative alimony would assist Ms. Crabtree in realizing her full economic potential. The intermediate appellate court, however, was concerned that rehabilitative alimony would:

not place her anywhere near an equal footing with Husband nor will she be able to continue living in the manner in which she had become accustomed during this twenty-three year marriage. The award of alimony in futuro will further assist her in this regard and provide her with "closing in" money.

The court cited Aaron v. Aaron, 909 S.W.2d 408, 411 (Tenn. 1995), in support of its conclusion.

We believe that the Court of Appeals' reliance on Aaron was misplaced. In Aaron this Court awarded alimony in futuro to a homemaker with a high school education who had never worked outside the home. This Court noted that although the award would "not put her in the same position in which she was prior to the divorce, it will provide her with 'closing in' money; that is she will be enabled to...

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