KENNY ARMSTRONG, J.
This is a divorce case in which Appellant/Wife appeals the trial court's denial of her request for alimony and reimbursement of her medical bills. Discerning no error, we affirm and remand.
This case arises from the dissolution of a four-year marriage. The parties, Robert Greer Morris ("Appellee") and Patti Deakins Morris ("Appellant") were married in May 2008. Mr. Morris filed for divorce in October 2012. At the time of the trial, he was 70 years old, and Ms. Morris was 58 years old. This was the third marriage for both parties.
The trial court divorced the parties by Final Decree of Divorce dated August 29, 2013. Therein, the trial court divided various marital assets. The court's division of assets is not appealed. As is relevant to the instant appeal, the trial court denied Wife's request for alimony and reimbursement of medical expenses. The Final Decree of Divorce states in pertinent part as follows:
On appeal, Ms. Morris argues that because she developed certain medical conditions during the marriage, which might become problematic in the future, Husband has an obligation to pay alimony. Additionally, Ms. Morris alleges that during the marriage, she incurred medical bills in excess of $110,000.00, which she paid from her separate funds. She argues that these bills were a marital obligation, and that she should be reimbursed for these expenditures. At trial, however, no evidence was presented to establish that Ms. Morris actually incurred $110,000.00 in medical expenses. As such, the trial court denied both her request for alimony and her request for reimbursement of medical expenses.
Ms. Morris appeals. From her brief, we discern two issues for review:
We review the trial court's findings of fact de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of the correctness of these findings, unless the evidence preponderates otherwise. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(d);
Trial courts have broad discretion in awarding spousal support.
Although the parties lived together for some time, the marriage itself lasted only four years. In its ruling, the trial court noted that the marriage was "very short." Tennessee case law is clear that, in a marriage of short duration, a trial court should attempt to place the parties as near as possible to the financial positions they occupied before the marriage. See
In a marriage of short duration, the trial court should endeavor to place the parties in their respective pre-marital financial positions. However, the court must also consider the factors listed in the Tennessee Code Annotated.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-5-121. In this case, the trial court carefully weighed the relevant statutory factors. With regard to the relative earning capacities of the parties, the trial court determined that Mr. Morris had the greater earning capacity, but found that Ms. Morris "certainly has some earning capacity and has some assets." The education and training of the parties was discounted by the trial court as both parties are retired from their respective professions.
The fifth factor outlined in Section 36-5-121 requires the trial court to make a finding as to "the physical condition of each party, including, but not limited to, physical disability or incapacity due to a chronic debilitating disease." In considering the physical condition of the parties, the trial court found that "both parties appear to be physically healthy." The trial court noted that although Mr. Morris was 70 years old at the time of the trial, "he appears to be in good health and doing fine." Additionally, the court noted that Ms. Morris is 58 years old and still "of a vibrant age." Nonetheless, Ms. Morris complained of several health problems at trial, including breast cancer, fibromyalgia, headaches, tremors, and liver problems. Specifically, Ms. Morris was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in 2010, which was treated with a lumpectomy. Her treatment required no chemotherapy or radiation. Her physician, Dr. Charles Patrick Johnson, testified as a medical expert by deposition. Dr. Johnson stated that although Ms. Morris has a history of Stage 1 breast cancer, it appears the surgery removed all of the cancer, and she has been in remission for three years. Dr. Johnson also testified that there is no way of predicting whether the breast cancer will recur.
Ms. Morris testified that she also suffered from headaches, as well as head and hand tremors that allegedly left her bedridden. However, Dr. Johnson's testimony did not corroborate Ms. Morris's testimony in this regard. Thus, the trial court determined that Ms. Morris's allegations of head and hand tremors were not supported by the medical proof. With regard to her claim of a fibromyalgia diagnosis, Dr. Johnson demurred, calling it a "wastebasket category" diagnosis. Dr. Johnson testified that on two separate occasions, Ms. Morris's liver became tender and swollen, but the last occurrence was in March 2012. Dr. Johnson opined that Ms. Morris seems to have completely recovered from this condition. Overall, Dr. Johnson stated that "generally her health is not that bad." Thus he concluded that Ms. Morris's condition was "no better and no worse" than most of the patients he sees, and that her condition was "consistent with a woman her age."
With regard to the factors concerning the financial resources of the parties and their separate assets, the trial court determined that each party has significant separate assets, as well as pensions and retirement income. Wife relies on the case of
After reviewing the relevant statutory factors, the trial court denied Ms. Morris's application for alimony. It is well settled that this Court will not second guess a trial court's decision concerning alimony absent an abuse of discretion. An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court causes an injustice by applying an incorrect legal standard, reaches an illogical result, resolves the case on a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence, or relies on reasoning that causes an injustice.
We now turn to Wife's request for reimbursement of her medical expenses. Ms. Morris testified that she paid in excess of $110,000.00 for medical bills she incurred during the marriage, and that these bills were paid using her separate assets. Ms. Morris argues that payment of these bills is a marital obligation, and that she should be reimbursed by Mr. Morris for these expenditures.
Marital debts are "all debts incurred by either or both spouses during the course of the marriage up to the date of the final divorce hearing."
Unlike this case, in
Despite Ms. Morris's testimony that she had been withdrawing $2,000.00 per month from her Guardian Wealth account since the inception of the marriage, the balance in this account actually increased during the parties' marriage. In December 2008, her investment portfolio was valued at $248,080.03, and on June 30, 2013, the same investment portfolio was valued at $275,084.14. Because the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's determination regarding reimbursement of medical expenses, we affirm the trial court's decision.
On appeal, Mr. Morris asks this Court to award his reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Husband argues that Ms. Morris's appeal is frivolous and without merit. "An appeal is deemed frivolous if it is devoid of merit or if it has no reasonable chance of success."
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. The case is remanded for such further proceedings as may be necessary and are consistent with this opinion. Costs of the appeal are assessed against the Appellant, Patti Deakins Morris, and her surety.