Garthright v. Garthright

• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
• Writing for the Court: SCRUGGS
• Citation: Garthright v. Garthright, 456 So.2d 825 (Ala. Civ. App. 1984)
• Decision Date: 12 September 1984
• Parties: Warren H. GARTHRIGHT v. Paulette Theresa GARTHRIGHT. Civ. 4317.

Page 825

456 So.2d 825

Warren H. GARTHRIGHT v. Paulette Theresa GARTHRIGHT.

Civ. 4317.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

Sept. 12, 1984.

Susan Shirock DePaola, of Pappanastos, Samford, Roberts & Blanchard, Montgomery, for appellant.

Charles P. Hollifield, of Hollifield & Hollifield, Montgomery, for appellee.

SCRUGGS, Retired Circuit Judge.

This is a periodic alimony modification case. Although the parties are divorced, they shall still be referred to as "the husband" and "the wife."

The Garthrights had been married for twenty-five years and had raised their three daughters to adulthood when the divorce was entered in January 1977 on account of incompatibility of temperament. Their divorce judgment adopted and incorporated into it a separation agreement. In pertinent part that agreement provided that the husband would pay to the wife the sum of $600 per month for her support at the rate of $300 every two weeks. In December 1983 the husband petitioned the trial court that the divorce judgment be modified to decrease the required periodic alimony payments. After an ore tenus trial the circuit court provided in its amended judgment that the alimony payments from the husband to the wife be made at the rate of $600 per month. The husband has appealed and has astutely argued through able counsel that the trial court was palpably wrong in that it abused its discretion in not reducing the alimony payments to a reasonable amount. We disagree and affirm.

In view of the applicable presumptions, we have reviewed the record and the following is pertinently revealed.

The wife is fifty-seven years of age and the husband is fifty-five. She was born and educated in France, having received the United States equivalent of around two years of college. The husband earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree and presently attends a nursing school in preparation of becoming a registered nurse. The wife has not remarried. The husband's present wife is a self-supporting, full-time registered nurse.

During the entire marriage the wife had no outside job. She has no particular employment skills or expertise, but she has worked as a salesperson at a department store since six months following the divorce. In 1983 her gross income from that job was $8,077. One of her recent larger weekly checks resulted in a net salary to her of $90.72. She testified that her monthly basic expenditures are never less than $950, which does not include any proceeds for any emergency, or for any maintenance to her house, or for the replacement or repair of her household appliances, all of which were purchased from fourteen to twenty years ago. Neither does the $950 figure include any funds for dental services, nor for any hospital, physician, surgeon, or medical expenses which are not covered by her insurance. Fortunately, she has no medical problems except that she takes daily medication for high blood pressure at a cost of $12 monthly. Her youngest daughter, who is twenty-six years of age, unmarried and self-supporting, resides with her and, according to the wife, the daughter averages giving to her about $100 monthly as financial assistance. In the past that daughter has also provided for some house repairs. The wife still owes $20,000 upon the house mortgage which is payable at the monthly rate of $226 until the year 2000. Her income taxes amount to...