Roadmap: Divorce Case

As Judge Koch has said, "the parties and the courts should pay careful attention to the order in which the various issues in a divorce case are addressed and decided" because the issues are interrelated. Anderton v. Anderton, 1998 WL 289338 (Tenn. Ct. App.):

As a general rule, the first issue considered in a divorce case concerns whether either or both parties have demonstrated that they are entitled to a divorce.

Following this decision, trial courts should turn their attention to the custody and visitation arrangements for the children if the parties have minor children entitled to support.

Only after these status issues have been decided should trial courts turn their attention to the financial aspects of the divorce decree.

The trial court’s first task following the resolution of the status issues is to identify and distribute the parties’ separate property and then to divide their marital property in an equitable manner.

After the parties’ property interests have been addressed, trial courts should then turn their attention to child support.

Consideration of spousal support questions should follow the disposition of all the preceding questions.

Once a court has determined whether spousal support should be awarded, and if so its nature, amount, and duration, it should, as a final matter, address any request for attorney’s fees if such request has been made.

Judge Koch is a member of Scribes: The American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects, and it shows. (Thanks to Clark Lee Shaw for directing me to the Anderton opinion).