Lola Taylor v. James Taylor

This appeal arises from the dissolution of a four-year marriage. The wife sought a divorce in the Circuit Court for Rutherford County because of the husband's chronic drunkenness, non-support, and threats of violence. Following a bench trial, the court granted the wife a divorce on the ground of inappropriate marital conduct. The trial court also divided the martial estate, gave the wife custody of the parties' four-year-old daughter, and directed the husband to pay child support. On this appeal, the husband asserts that the trial court erred in its classification and division of the marital property, that the trial court awarded an excessive amount of child support, and that the trial court erred by denying his request to place a portion of his child support in an educational trust fund. For her part, the wife requests an additional award to defray her legal expenses for this appeal. We conclude that the trial court (1) correctly classified and divided the marital estate, (2) properly sequestered a portion of the husband's assets to assure the timely and regular payment of his child support, and (3) properly declined to establish an educational trust fund for the child. We also conclude that the trial court erred by failing to direct the trial court clerk to return the remainder of the sequestered funds to the husband when his child support obligation ceased. In addition, we decline to award the wife her legal expenses for this appeal or to find that this appeal was frivolous.