Christy Keller Elrod Church v. Darrell Gene Elrod

In this post-divorce petition to modify, the Appellant (former Husband) contends that the trial court erred in concluding that his obligation to provide life insurance for the benefit of Appellee (former Wife) was part of a property settlement and therefore not subject to modification.  The trial court’s order included an upward deviation for support of the parties’ youngest child for the twelve month period prior to her emancipation.  The trial court also ordered Appellant to pay college tuition equal to that of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville without providing any allowance for scholarships and sponsor fees received by the parties’ daughter.  The trial court further found that Appellant was not guilty of civil contempt for failure to make payments into Appellee’s retirement account under the terms of the parties’ Agreed Order of Legal Separation (AOLS).  However, the trial court refused to relieve Appellant of his obligation to continue funding Appellee’s retirement account at the same level as he funds his own retirement account.  We conclude from our review that the life insurance policy obligation constitutes spousal support, which is subject to modification.  We vacate the trial court’s judgment concerning college tuition and hold that Appellant is obligated to pay the cost of tuition and books, less scholarships and sponsor fees received by the parties’ daughter.  All other aspects of the trial court’s order are affirmed.  Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.