Please E-mail suggested additions, comments and/or corrections to Kent@MoreLaw.Com.
Help support the publication of case reports on MoreLaw
Date: 09-04-2024
Case Style:
Victoria C. Jensen v. Tyler C. Jensen
Case Number: 21-0223
Judge: Pamela A. Fleenor
Court: Chancery Court, Hamilton County, Tennessee
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Chattanooga, Tennessee divorce lawyers represented the parties in a marriage dissolution.
The plaintiff, Victoria C. Jensen ("Wife"), and the defendant, Tyler C. Jensen ("Husband"), were married in February 2011 in California and had two children born of the marriage: a son born in July 2011 and a daughter born in October 2013 (collectively, "the Children"). The parties subsequently relocated from California to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they purchased improved real property located on Glenview Avenue in the Lookout Mountain area ("the Marital Residence"). The parties separated on or about March 6, 2021. According to the final divorce decree, at the time of the separation, both parties were employed and were able to work remotely, Husband in online advertising and Wife in digital marketing. It is undisputed that after the separation, Husband resided primarily in Texas with his paramour, S.S., and her minor son. Husband testified at trial that he had leased a townhome in Chattanooga for one year beginning in May or June of 2021, but he acknowledged that he had only stayed in the townhome for "[m]aybe a month total."
On April 1, 2021, Wife filed a complaint for divorce in the Hamilton County Chancery Court ("trial court"), alleging irreconcilable differences or, in the alternative, adultery and inappropriate marital conduct. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-101 (11), (14) (West July 1, 2007, to current). She requested awards of temporary and permanent spousal support and asked that the trial court set Husband's child support obligation pursuant to the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. Wife also requested an award of reasonable attorney's fees and expenses. Wife concomitantly filed a proposed permanent parenting plan wherein she would be designated the primary residential parent with all major decision-making authority for the Children. Under this plan, Wife requested that Husband be responsible for child support and for the Children's health insurance.
On April 30, 2021, Wife filed a motion to enforce the automatic statutory injunctions provided in Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-4-106(d)(1) and a motion for temporary child support. In support of both motions, Wife contemporaneously filed a declaration stating that on April 28, 2021, she learned that Husband had failed to make his routine monthly payment for a country club membership and that he had removed his bank account from the automatic payment for the membership.
Husband filed an answer and counter-complaint on May 13, 2021, admitting that irreconcilable differences existed between the parties while denying that he was guilty of inappropriate marital conduct. In his counter-complaint, Husband alleged irreconcilable differences or, in the alternative, Wife's inappropriate marital conduct as a ground for divorce. In response to Wife's request for spousal support, Husband denied that Wife needed or that he had the ability to pay alimony. He also requested an award of reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. Husband attached a proposed temporary parenting plan wherein he requested designation as the primary residential parent with 183 days of annual co-parenting time and joint decision-making authority for the parties. He also requested that the trial court set a child support obligation for Wife pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines. Under Husband's plan, Wife was to be responsible for maintaining the Children's health insurance.
Wife filed a reply to Husband's counter-complaint on May 17, 2021, denying that she was guilty of inappropriate marital conduct. On June 24, 2021, Husband filed a motion to allocate the parties' expenses, requesting that Wife pay some of the parties' expenses prior to trial because Husband was paying a "disproportionately high amount of the parties' expenses" and "simply [could] not afford all the marital expenses as is."
On July 30, 2021, the trial court entered an agreed order regarding Wife's motions for temporary child support and to enforce the statutory injunction. The trial court ordered the parties to participate in mediation and "continue to make all normal payments for regular monthly bills" in a timely fashion. The court directed Husband to begin making monthly temporary child support payments in the amount of $1,486.00.
Outcome: Affirmed
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: