Kennedy vs. Kennedy

This appeal involves a man's efforts to use his voluntary early retirement as a basis for ending his spousal support obligation. Three years after the divorce, the man filed a petition in the Circuit Court for Davidson County seeking to end his responsibility to pay child support. His former wife responded by filing a petition seeking to hold him in contempt for failure to pay spousal support. Following a bench trial, the trial court dismissed the man's petition, held him in contempt, and entered a $3,106 judgment against him for back spousal support. On this appeal, the man asserts that the trial court erred by declining to relieve him of his alimony obligation because of his inability to pay and his former spouse's lack of need. We affirm the trial court's judgment.