Does My Inheritance Affect an Alimony or Child Support Order?

It may seem quite unfortunate timing if you lose a loved one and initiate a divorce from your spouse, all within a relatively short timeframe. If you recently received an inheritance from your loved one, you may worry about how this might shift things in your divorce proceedings. Well, the Tennessee family court will likely view it as separate property and not subject it to equitable distribution, but your spouse may put up a fight first. Also, you may wonder how your inheritance will fit into the conversation of alimony and child support amounts. If you have these unanswered questions, please follow along to find out how your inheritance may alter your subsequent orders, and how one of the proficient Clarksville property division lawyers at Fendley and Birch can fight to get you the fairest outcome overall.

Can My Spouse Attempt to Claim Part of the Value of My Inheritance?

To reiterate, your inheritance may be labeled as separate, non-marital property for the sake of your divorce’s property division proceedings. Even so, your spouse may attempt to claim a part of its value. Specifically, they may argue that your inheritance increased in value passively because of marital contributions.

For example, say that you inherited a real estate property, and you and your spouse used marital funds from a joint bank account to conduct a renovation project. Plus, you may have both contributed physical labor to execute this construction. Well, if the property’s market value grows as a result, your spouse may want to receive the profit, or part of it.

In another example, say that you inherited a business. Well, your spouse may argue that you jointly managed and ran the business during your marriage. They may even assert that this is their primary income source. And so, they may want shares or rights to the business post-divorce.

Will Keeping My Inheritance Affect an Alimony or Child Support Order?

Even if you can successfully shut down your spouse’s attempts to take away your inheritance, keeping it may inadvertently affect your alimony and child support orders. This is because the Tennessee family court will mainly evaluate your and your spouse’s financial resources at this time, as it is a good window into your ability to pay.

Under TN Code § 36-5-121(i), the court must weigh a number of factors when determining alimony amounts, and two of these factors directly reach your inheritance.

Factor (i)(1): Considers the relative earning capacity, financial obligations, needs, and resources of each party
Factor (i)(7): Considers the separate property of each party, both real and personal, tangible and intangible
- Separate property, while shielded from asset division, is not shielded from consideration

So, say that your inheritance is quite significant. On top of this, it may have a likelihood of producing recurring income (i.e., rental income, business dividends, trust distributions, etc). With this, the court may assume that you have a better capacity to serve as the payor of alimony and child support.

Further, even if you are assigned as the receiver of alimony, your inheritance may make it so the court does not find it necessary to get paid too much or for too long. This is because they may believe it will not take much for you to accomplish the two necessary things: to become financially independent and to maintain your lifestyle.

Can an Inheritance Received After the Divorce Change an Existing Order?

In some cases, yes, but the answer will ultimately depend on the type of alimony they were awarded. In accordance with § 36-5-121, only some types of alimony are open to change:

Alimony in Futuro and Rehabilitative Alimony: These remain open within the court’s control and may be increased, decreased, terminated, or extended based on considerable and material changes in the circumstances of either party
Transitional Alimony: This is nonmodifiable unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the original divorce decree issued by the court states otherwise, or the recipient cohabitates with a third party
A Final Alimony Award in Solido: Also referred to as lump sum alimony, this form of support is only modifiable through agreement of the parties.

As such, a former spouse who learns about your inheritance and seeks a modification on these grounds may have no route at all, depending on the initial decree awarded.

What Happens if Alimony Goes Unpaid?

As per § 36-5-121(a), alimony that goes unpaid may be enforced by any appropriate processes of the court holding jurisdiction, including levy of execution. Additionally, under § 36-5-121(o), an alimony order reduced to judgment is enforceable like any other judgment of a Tennessee court and is entitled to full faith and credit in other states. Recipients do not need to reopen the divorce case to collect the alimony they are entitled to.

Willful nonpayment of alimony can expose the paying spouse to contempt of court charges. As such, it is critical to understand that filing a petition to modify alimony does not suspend your legal obligation to continue paying. The existing orders will remain in effect until the court rules on it, meaning unpaid support while a petition is pending will accrue arrears.

Contact an Experienced Tennessee Family Law Firm Today

To conclude, if you are ready to step foot into this legal path, do not do so until you have retained one of the talented Clarksville family lawyers from Fendley and Birch. Contact us today to learn how we can represent you during these difficult matters.