When Inequitable Is More Reasonable:
Inn 1998, a Tennessee appeals court refused to overturn a lower court’s ruling in Dillinger v. Dellinger that awarded 65% of the martial property to the housewife spouse in a marriage of 28 years. The interesting thing about the above case isn’t the final divorce settlement but the wording in the appeals courts response to the appeal.
The appellate court judges upheld the lower court divorce order because the divorce financial analyst hired by the wife had testified about the “future financial position” of the lower income earning wife. The appellate court said it “had to consider the issue of future not merely the present” financial position of both spouses.
This doesn’t mean that a court is going to set an ex-spouse up for a life of leisure at the expense of the other spouse. It does mean that courts will rule in favor of both spouses living an equal lifestyle after the divorce or, a lifestyle they have become accustomed to.
To obtain a fair settlement your goal should be to determine how a combination of income, property division and spousal support can come together with a post-divorce budget and help you reach your targeted lifestyle.
