- Legal EditorHenry Dahut, J.D.
Henry Dahut, J.D.
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Henry Dahut is a licensed California trial attorney. Over the course of his 30-plus years practicing law, Henry has represented and counseled countless clients in legal trouble.
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Divorce & Family Law Summary
Each state uses its respective legislative process to enact divorce laws. The court is responsible for interpreting the laws and managing the divorce proceedings.
Once legislation is enacted into law, the divorce courts in Tennessee have the authority to manage the divorce proceedings, including spousal support and child support payments, custodial rights of parents, and property division.
Since state laws are frequently repealed and amended, it is always advisable to consult with an experienced divorce lawyer before making important decisions about your marriage.
All states allow for “no-fault” divorce. Yet many courts still factor in the respective parties’ past behavior when determining the division of community property, debts, custody, support, and related issues.
Keep in mind that divorce is a life-changing process.
Grounds for Divorce and Separation
Tennessee recognizes both “no-fault” and “fault-based” grounds for divorce.
No-Fault Grounds:
Irreconcilable differences are the most common grounds for divorce in Tennessee. It is based on parties attesting that the marriage is irretrievably broken with no reasonable hope of reconciliation.
If one party contests the divorce, the court may order the parties to participate in counseling or mediation to see if reconciliation is possible.
Fault-Based Grounds:
While no-fault divorce is the most commonly used process, a spouse has the right to file for divorce based on fault, which includes:
- Adultery
- Abandonment
- Imprisonment
- Cruel and inhuman treatment
- Domestic violence
- Habitual drunkenness or drug addiction
- Bigamy
Residency Requirements
The plaintiff must be a resident of this state, or if the grounds for divorce occurred outside of the state, either party must have resided in the state for six months preceding the complaint filing. .
Legal Separation
In Tennessee, legal separation, also known as “separate maintenance,” is a legal process similar to divorce but doesn’t fully terminate the marriage. It allows couples to live apart and formally resolve issues like child custody, visitation, child support, alimony (called spousal support in separate maintenance cases), and property division while remaining legally married.
Property Distribution
In Tennessee, marital property division is based on equity and fairness and without regard to marital fault.
Marital property is defined as property acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title.
Property acquired before the marriage or after legal separation, inheritances, gifts, and personal injury settlements or awards are considered separate property and are not shared,
The court will consider many equitable factors, including:
- The length of the marriage
- The age, physical and mental health, employability, and financial needs of each spouse
- The contribution of one spouse to the education or increased earning power of the other spouse
- The relative ability of each spouse for future employment and asset acquirement
- Contributions as a homemaker, wage earner, or parent
- The value of the separate property of each spouse
- The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of the divorce
- The tax consequences of the proposed property settlement
- The social security benefits available to each spouse
- Any other factors that the court deems relevant to an equitable distribution
Note: The court may award the family home and effects, or the right to live there for a reasonable period, to either party but shall give special consideration to the spouse having physical custody of a child or children of the marriage.
Alimony – Spousal Support
According to the nature of the case and the parties ‘ circumstances, the court may award alimony for being paid by one spouse to the other or out of either spouse’s property.
The court may award rehabilitative alimony, periodic alimony, transitional alimony, or lump sum alimony, or a combination of these, considering the following factors:
- The relative earning capacity, obligations, needs, and financial resources of each party
- The relative earning capability of each party and the necessity of a party to secure further education and training to improve such party’s earning capacity to a reasonable level
- The duration of the marriage
- The age, mental, and physical condition of each party, including, but not limited to, physical disability or incapacity due to chronic debilitating disease
- Whether the custodial parent is unable to work outside the home due to the care of a minor child
- The separate assets of each party
- The property was apportioned to the party
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The contributions as a homemaker and to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other party
- The relative faulty of the parties
- Any other factors, including the tax consequences to each party, are necessary to consider the equities between the parties
Child Custody
The court may award child custody to either parent or both parents in the case of joint custody or shared parenting based on the best interests of the child, considering the following factors:
- The emotional ties, love, and affection between the parents and the child
- The ability of the parents to provide adequately for the child
- The quality of the child’s adjustment to the child’s present environment, including the home, school, and community, provided there is no evidence of child abuse
- The stability of the family unit, as well as the mental and physical health of the parents
- The preference of the child is 12 years of age or older. The court may also hear the choice of a younger child upon request, but it will not be given as much weight as that of an older child
- Evidence of abuse to the child, the other parent, or any other person
- The character of any other person who resides with or frequently interacts with the child
- The parenting abilities of each parent, including their willingness to encourage a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other parent.
- Courts highly disfavor one spouse trying to ruin the child’s relationship with the other parent. This is called parent alienation, and it is considered to have a negative psychological impact on the child.
Child Support
Child support in Tennessee is based on the “Income Shares” Model. Learn how Tennessee enforces and calculates Child Support. The factors may include court health insurance coverage for each child of the marriage, with either party to pay all or each party to pay a pro-rata share of the health care costs not paid by insurance proceeds
Spousal Name Change
In Tennessee, a spouse can restore their former name (a name used before the current marriage) as part of the divorce process. This fairly straightforward procedure doesn’t require a separate legal name change action. In most states, a person can petition the court to have their name legally changed after the divorce is final.
Watch Tennessee Attorney Dana McClendon Briefly Explain The Legal Basics of Divorce Law:
Tennessee Child Support Enforcement
15th Floor, Citizens Plaza Building, 400 Deaderick Street
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1403
Office: (615) 313-4880
Fax: (615) 532-2791
Tennessee Family and Domestic Relations Courts
Tennessee is home to 98 juvenile courts with 109 juvenile court judges and 45 magistrates. Of these 98 courts, 17 are designated “Private Act” juvenile courts, while the remaining 81 are general session courts with juvenile jurisdiction.
Each court, except Bristol and Johnson City, is county-based and administered by at least one juvenile court located in each of the state’s 95 counties. The Circuit Court, with 98 judges, is the court of general jurisdiction. It hears domestic relations cases, but shares equal standing with the Criminal and Chancery trial courts.
Same-Sex Divorce
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is a right protected by the U.S. Constitution in all 50 states. It follows, therefore, that the rights and obligations between same-sex divorcing parties are subject to the same dissolution laws of that state. Reference: U.S. Supreme Court Opinion: Obergefell v. Hodges.
Sources and References
Summary of Tennessee Divorce Law
