Grimsley v. Grimsley
| Decision Date | 29 March 1989 |
| Citation | 545 So.2d 75 |
| Parties | Betty Merle GRIMSLEY v. James Alfred GRIMSLEY. Civ. 6612. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
Donald C. McCabe and Donald D. McCabe, Daleville, for appellant.
Warren Rowe of Rowe & Rowe, Enterprise, for appellee.
This proceeding was initiated by the wife when she filed a complaint seeking divorce on the grounds of adultery and physical cruelty. Following an ore tenus proceeding, the trial court granted the divorce and effected a property settlement. The wife appeals, contending that the amount of the assets and alimony in gross awarded to her constitutes an abuse of the trial court's discretion, particularly in view of the husband's adultery.
It is axiomatic that alimony awards and property division are discretionary with the trial court. Montgomery v. Montgomery, 519 So.2d 525 (Ala.Civ.App.1987); Carnaggio v. Carnaggio, 475 So.2d 861 (Ala.Civ.App.1985). We are authorized to disturb the trial court's decision only if it is unsupported by the evidence and, therefore, is unjust and palpably wrong. Austin v. Austin, 408 So.2d 138 (Ala.Civ.App.1981). Because alimony awards are interwoven with the division of assets, the entire judgment must be considered in order to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion. Montgomery, supra.
There are no fixed standards or mathematical formulae for determining alimony or dividing property, Brand v. Brand, 444 So.2d 866 (Ala.Civ.App.1984). Instead, trial courts should consider many factors in making such awards. Included are the age, sex, and health of the parties, the length of their marriage, their future prospects and station in life, their standard of living and each party's potential for maintaining that standard after the divorce, the value and type of property they own, and the source of their common property. Young v. Young, 515 So.2d 32 (Ala.Civ.App.1987); Lutz v. Lutz, 485 So.2d 1174 (Ala.Civ.App.1986); Jones v. Jones, 454 So.2d 1006 (Ala.Civ.App.1984). Each party's earning capacity should be examined, including his or her training, education, experience, employment history, and earning record. Jones, supra. In appropriate cases, the conduct of the parties with reference to the cause of the divorce should also be evaluated. Lutz, supra; Reynolds v. Reynolds, 376 So.2d 732 (Ala.Civ.App.1979).
The parties in the instant case are in their early fifties and were married for over thirty years. They have three children, all of whom are now adults. The husband has a college education and has owned and operated a pest control business since 1959. He testified that he draws an annual salary of $20,000, but it is also clear that he has always supplemented his salary at will from the profits of the business. The wife has a high school education and was a homemaker throughout most of the marriage. She also did some of the bookkeeping for her husband's business and assisted in the office from time to time. She was not employed at the time of the trial. The evidence also revealed that the husband had engaged in an extramarital affair of several years' duration with a former employee.
The trial court awarded alimony in gross to the wife in the amount of $500.00 per month for five years. She was also awarded the marital residence and its furniture and furnishings, plus 40 percent of a certificate of deposit and half of the proceeds from the sale of a lot and some stock. The trial court awarded the pest control business to the husband, which included two parcels of real property, his stock in the business, and stock he owned in another corporation with which he had recently merged his company. The husband was also awarded a parcel of real property adjacent to property owned by his father, 60 percent of the certificate of deposit, and the other half of the proceeds from the lot and stock sales. The husband was ordered to maintain medical insurance for the wife and to pay all marital debts, including a loan secured by the marital residence.
We will first address the property settlement. The trial court in a divorce case has wide discretion in making a property division and has the power to use any reasonable means to effect a just distribution. West v. West, 437 So.2d 583 (Ala.Civ.App.1983). This court has stated in numerous cases that the only requirement governing the trial court's exercise of discretion in this area is that the division of property must be equitable. Equal distribution is not mandated. Furthermore, even though this court might have reached a different decision than...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Knight v. Knight
...of property, and it may use whatever means are reasonable and necessary to equitably divide the parties' property. Grimsley v. Grimsley, 545 So.2d 75, 77 (Ala.Civ.App.1989). Its judgment is presumed correct and will not be reversed unless it is so unsupported by the evidence ... as to be un......
-
McAlpine v. McAlpine
...of property, and it may use whatever means are reasonable and necessary to equitably divide the parties' property. Grimsley v. Grimsley, 545 So.2d 75, 77 (Ala.Civ.App.1989). Its judgment is presumed correct and will not be reversed unless it is so unsupported by the evidence ... as to be un......
-
J.D.A. v. A.B.A., 2100907
...not constitute a basis for ... reversal of the trial court which heard the evidence and observed the witnesses." Grimsley v. Grimsley, 545 So. 2d 75, 77 (Ala. Civ. App. 1989). That said, we conclude that the amount of periodic alimony awarded to the wife was inequitable."'"The trial court h......
-
O'Neal v. O'Neal
...Seamon v. Seamon, 587 So.2d 333 (Ala.Civ.App.1991); Daugherty v. Daugherty, 579 So.2d 1377 (Ala.Civ.App.1991); Grimsley v. Grimsley, 545 So.2d 75 (Ala.Civ.App.1989); Kuhnel v. Kuhnel, 535 So.2d 164 (Ala.Civ.App.1988); Carnaggio v. Carnaggio, 475 So.2d 861 (Ala.Civ.App.1985); Huldtquist v. H......