• Tennessee considers awarding alimony on a temporary or permanent basis.ring image by Jens Klingebiel from Fotolia.com
  
  Deciding to file for divorce in Tennessee can be a long and complicated process. Couples ending a marriage must resolve issues of property and asset distribution; custody and visitation schedules with any children; and, child and spousal support.
  
  Couples aware of divorce and alimony laws in Tennessee may complete proceedings quicker and avoid extra legal fees.
  
  

No-Fault Divorce

• Tennessee allows couples to file a no-fault divorce. To qualify for a no-fault divorce, a couple must cite irreconcilable differences and submit a marital dissolution agreement. Couples without children may also file for a no-fault divorce after living apart for two years.
  
  

Fault Divorce

• Either person may file for a fault divorce from the other for impotence, adultery, conviction of a felony with incarceration, alcoholism or drug addiction, pregnancy of the wife by another man without the husband's knowledge, willful desertion for more than one year, bigamy, endangering the spouse's life, conviction of an infamous crime, refusing to move to Tennessee with the spouse and living separately for more than two years, cruel and inhumane treatmen,; indignities which make the spouse's life intolerable, and abandonment, neglect, or banning the spouse from the home.
  
  

Property Distribution

• Tennessee is an equitable distribution state. This means the state divides all property and assets based on what the court feels is fair. This does not mean both people will receive property and assets of equal value. The court only divides marital property, which consists of property acquired during the marriage by either person, any increase of value in a property which either person helped maintain and any retirement benefits.
  
  Tennessee considers several factors for property distribution. These factors include the contribution of each person to the property, value of each person's property, financial situation of each person, length of the marriage, age and health of each person, vocational skills of each person, needs of each person, any tax implications of property distribution, earning capacity of each person, and the ability of each person to find employment.
  
  

Alimony

• Tennessee may award alimony on a temporary or permanent basis. Some factors Tennessee considers when determining alimony include value of any separately-owned assets, standard of living during the marriage, length of the marriage, earning capacity of the person seeking alimony, and the conduct of each person during the marriage.
  
  

Child Custody

• Tennessee will decide custody of minor children if the couple cannot reach an agreement. Factors considered when determining custody include any domestic violence in the relationship, mental and physical health of each parent, and the behavior of any other person living in the parent's residence. Tennessee will also consider the preference of children older than 12 years of age.