The attorneys at Kane & Crowell are professionals who handle all aspects of family law in Wilson County, Smith County, Macon County, Trousdale County, Dekalb County, Jackson County, Sumner County, Kane and Crowell are experienced divorce lawyers located in Lebanon and Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.

Pre-Divorce Planning

Usually, by the time you have met with the attorney in our office, you have already tried counseling and working on your marriage. Most parties that meet with us are ready to file. For those people that have never been divorced, there may be stress in starting the divorce process. For those who have already been divorced, there may be regret about getting divorced again. 

Divorce is never easy and can be worsened by an angry or spiteful spouse. The best way to approach a divorce is to be informed and prepared. Many people who file for divorce often have no clue about the other party’s finances. It is imperative that you begin to work out what assets are in your name, your spouse’s name or in both of your names. Also, you should find out what debts you have, who they are with, and how much is owed on each debt.

During the pendency of the divorce, notify the banks, charge cards, and others that you are going through a divorce and some accounts should be closed. Do not cut off utilities, cable, or stop paying ongoing bills and do not dispose or dissipate assets. The actions you take are meant to protect the marital estate, not ruin it.

Hiring an attorney is an important factor in pre-divorce planning. You should have a good rapport with your attorney and feel he/she answers your questions as completely as possible. You should also feel that your attorney is surrounded by a good team.

Discuss with your attorney the strategy for filing for divorce fìrst. There are advantages and disadvantages to this tactic, and your attorney can explain them to you.

Property Division

When it comes to property division, it is your job to tell us about all your assets and provide us with copies evidencing ownership of these assets.

The Court will first determine if your property is separate property or marital property. Fault is not a factor in property division.

Separate property is property a spouse usually acquired before the marriage or through an inheritance or gift that the spouse kept separated from the other spouse. Unless you can prove this item somehow became marital property through transmutation or commingling, the court will allow that party to retain his or her separate property. Transmutation or commingling can occur in many ways, including putting your spouse’s name on a bank account or Deed. We will discuss this if it is an issue in your divorce.

Marital property is property you acquired during the marriage. Marital property can also include an appreciation in the value of your spouse’s separate property.

Marital property means all real and personal property acquired by either or both spouses. Sometimes, a spouse’s separate property may become marital depending on how the parties treated it during the marriage. Marital property may also include recovery in personal injury cases, workers compensation and disability actions.

Tennessee law sets forth criteria to determine how marital property will be divided:

Tenn. Code § 36-4-121 (c) In making equitable division of marital property, the court shall consider all relevant factors including

(1) The duration of the marriage;

(2) The age, physical and mental health, vocational skills, employability, earning capacity, estate, financial liabilities and financial needs of each of the parties;

(3) The tangible or intangible contribution by one (1) party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other party;

(4) The relative ability of each party for future acquisitions of capital assets and income;

(5) The contribution of each party to the acquisition, preservation, appreciation, depreciation or dissipation of the marital or separate property, including the contribution of a party to the marriage as homemaker, wage earner or parent, with the contribution of a parry as homemaker or wage earner to be given the same weight if each party has fulfilled its role;

(6) The value of the separate property of each party;

(7) The estate of each party at the time of the marriage;

(8) The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property is to become effective;

(9) The tax consequences to each party, costs associated with the reasonably foreseeable sale of the asset, and other reasonably foreseeable expenses associated with the asset;

(10) The amount of social security benefits available to each spouse; and

(11) Such other factors as are necessary to consider the equities between the parties.

Debt Division

The court will consider these factors in determining division of debt:

• Whose debt it is;
• Why it was incurred;
• Who benefitted from the asset purchased or debt monies;
• Who will ultimately receive the asset purchased;
• Who can afford to pay the debt;

During your marriage, most of your debts were probably incurred jointly. That means you are both legally responsible for the debt. The Court will determine who pays what. However, if your spouse does not pay the debt, the creditor can still sue you over the debt. You can then file a Petition for Contempt and have your spouse held in contempt for his/her failure to pay the court-ordered payments if this were to happen.

Alimony

Alimony is based upon the relative needs and resources of the parties.

The State of Tennessee sets out criteria for establishing alimony in its statutes:

• 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 36-4-12 1;
  
  
• 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.

The Trial Process

If we get to trial, that will mean we have done Discovery, Mediation and Preliminary Hearings, and there is no way to settle this matter.

We prepare extensively for trial. We use the worksheets and documents you have provided to me or helped me access, at your trial. Trials can be expensive because of the preparation time and also because of the trial time. Also, sometimes if we are at the trial phase, we also have experts who will testify on your behalf and they expect to be compensated for their time and testimony.

The only time fault comes into play is to determine alimony. However, judges are human and although, by law, fault does not come into play in the division of marital property, it certainly can affect the judge’s decision on all matters.

Courts will listen to the evidence presented to determine custody, division of the marital assets and debt and alimony.

When you prove something in court, you do so through witness and records. I will need a list of all your witnesses we will need for trial. I will need their names, address and phone numbers. I will need a synopsis of what information they can testify about.

We can issue subpoenas to have witnesses attend court and get off from work.

We will use subpoenaed documents to also present evidence of debts and assets.

We will also use subpoenaed documents of school records, medical records, or bank records in custody or alimony related matters.

There will be a Court Reporter present at your trial taking down everything anybody testifies to and the Judge’s ruling, in the event we need to later appeal the Judge’s ruling. A Court Reporter charges you for her time in Court and charges you if you request a copy of the Transcript of the trial after the hearing.

Usually, at trial the Plaintiff’s side will go first. You will testify and all your witnesses who support your allegations of custody and division of the marital estate will testify. Your attorney will ask them questions. Your spouse’s attorney will also ask them questions. No parties, except those who have already testified, can be in the courtroom during the trial. You can not discuss the testimony of the trial with those waiting outside to testify, until they too have testified.

Always dress appropriately for court. Tell your witnesses to do the same.

Do not wear excessive jewelry or make up.

Answer clearly and he serious when you answer your questions. Do not cover your mouth or aver your eyes.

Do not interrupt the Judge. Look at the Judge when you speak to them.

Do not react to the other witnesses testimony.

Be polite.

Control your temper.

Be sure you understand all questions before you answer them. On cross examination most questions can be answered yes or no or I do not know. Do not volunteer information,