Can I get maintenance or will I have to provide maintenance to my spouse?

In Tennessee, we refer to maintenance as “alimony.” There are several different types of alimony. The factors for determining alimony are:

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

    • 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;
    • 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;
    • The duration of the marriage;
    • The age and mental condition of each party;
    • The physical condition of each party, including, but not limited to, physical disability or incapacity due to a chronic debilitating disease;
    • 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;
    • The separate assets of each party, both real and personal, tangible and intangible;
    • The provisions made with regard to the marital property as defined in s 36-4-121;
    • The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;
    • 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;
    • The relative fault of the parties in cases where the court, in its discretion, deems it appropriate to do so; and
    • Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party, as are necessary to consider the equities between the parties.