Alimony

A spouse may request that the other spouse pay him/her money for support after the divorce. Alimony can either come from an agreement of the parties or can be ordered by the court. The court may (but does not have to) order temporary and/or permanent support. The court will listen to testimony from the spouses and others and will decide on an amount and duration for alimony. The amount must take into consideration the ability of one party to pay and the requesting party's need.

Short term alimony is "preferred" by Tennessee law and is often given to allow a spouse to improve his/her employment opportunities (i.e., to let the spouse go back to school or get job training) or to allow time to make the economic transition from married life to single life. Permanent alimony (until death of a party or remarriage of the recipient) is reserved for special cases often involving significant disability or long term marriages (generally more than twenty years).