In re Marriage of Olson
| Decision Date | 08 November 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-0136.,04-0136. |
| Parties | In re the MARRIAGE OF Guy V. OLSON and Mary C. Olson. Upon the Petition of Guy V. Olson, Appellant, and Concerning Mary C. Olson, Appellee. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Barbara H. Liesveld of Thinnes & Liesveld, Cedar Rapids, for appellant.
Stephen B. Jackson and Stephen B. Jackson, Jr., Cedar Rapids, for appellee.
In this case, a spouse appealed a decree of dissolution. We transferred the case to our court of appeals. The court of appeals affirmed all but the alimony and insurance provisions of the decree. It reversed the district court award of traditional alimony and modified the decree to include rehabilitative alimony. Because we agree with the district court that traditional alimony is required in this case, we vacate the decision of the court of appeals and affirm the district court decree.
Because this is a dissolution case, the scope of review is de novo. In re Marriage of Schriner, 695 N.W.2d 493, 495-96 (Iowa 2005) (citations omitted); Iowa R.App. P. 6.4. Although weight is given to the fact findings of the district court, the reviewing court is not bound by them. Iowa R.App. P. 6.14(6)(g).
We find the following facts upon our de novo review of the record granting due deference to the district court's credibility determinations. Guy and Mary Olson were married on June 7, 1980. Guy and Mary had five daughters. At the time of trial, Terin was twenty-two years old and engaged to be married. Kayce was twenty-one years old and attended college at the University of Northern Iowa. Ashley and Marni, twins, were eighteen years old and attended Benton Community High School. Ashley lived outside of the family home. Cami was sixteen years old and attended Benton Community High School.
Guy and Mary separated on March 5, 2002. On March 26, 2002, Guy filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. The case was tried in December 2003.
At the time of trial, Guy was forty-six years old. Guy completed high school and earned two associate degrees in instrumentation and electronics prior to his marriage to Mary. Cedar River Paper Company, now a part of Weyerhaeuser Company, employs Guy as a team member in the maintenance department. He earns $28.20 per hour as a salaried employee.
Over the last four years, Guy has worked between 500 and 1000 hours of overtime per year but has indicated he would like to decrease that amount. He has also received bonuses from his employer. While Guy's employer testified the bonus plans will change and it cannot guarantee overtime hours, the employer did not indicate that it would eliminate the availability of bonus plans or overtime hours in the future. Guy's earnings averaged around $88,500 per year for the five years preceding the trial. Overall, Guy is in good health, although the overtime hours and stress surrounding the divorce may be negatively affecting his wellbeing.
At the time of trial, Mary was forty-eight years old. Mary completed high school and attended one year of college. Except for a very brief period, Mary's primary role during the marriage has been to stay at home and take care of the house and children.
In recent years, Mary has experienced significant health problems. In December 2002, Mary's physicians diagnosed her with grade three ductal adenocarcinoma. The final diagnosis revealed she had stage IIA breast cancer. Treatment for the cancer included a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and breast reconstruction surgery. Mary's other health problems include diabetes with lethargy and peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, and depression. Her past medical history reveals she has had abdominal surgery in connection with the delivery of the twins, has undergone carpal tunnel surgeries on both hands, and has had kidney stones. Additionally, Mary has had a severe reaction to a staph infection.
The district court continued the trial of this case on two occasions due to Mary's ongoing health problems. Mary takes numerous medications, including Prozac and Ritalin. Her medications cost her $250 per month. Guy's health insurance will not cover her after the dissolution. She can obtain COBRA coverage for three years at a cost of $200 per month.
The district court found Mary has the capability to be employed fulltime, earning approximately $8 per hour. At the time of trial, she remained unemployed.
Over the course of their marriage, Guy and Mary experienced financial difficulties. In June 2001, they discharged a large amount of credit card debt in bankruptcy and reaffirmed the secured debt on their home. Guy claims Mary's gambling addiction caused the financial difficulties. We agree with Guy that Mary has a gambling problem but note Guy enjoys gambling as well, as evidenced by their trip to a casino after their bankruptcy hearing.
On December 18, 2003, the district court entered a decree dissolving Guy and Mary's marriage of twenty-three years. The district court divided Guy's defined benefit plan equally between the parties. It awarded the following property and debts with estimated values to Mary:
Personal property $ 2000
1996 Ford Windstar and loan ($ 2000)
Share of Guy's 401(k) account $26,000
Other debts ($ 8000)
Estimated Total $18,000
The district court awarded Guy the following property and debts with estimated values:
Family home and debt ($29,000)
Personal property $ 2000
Share of Guy's 401(k) account $16,000
1999 Saturn and loan ($ 3000)
1992 Ford truck and loan $ 1000
Other debts ($ 1000)
Estimated Total ($14,000)
During the pendency of the action, Guy withdrew $6945 from his 401(k) account to purge himself of contempt. This early withdrawal caused Guy to pay a penalty and additional tax in 2002. Considering the penalty and additional tax, the withdrawal comes close to evening out the distribution made of Guy's 401(k) account between the parties. The withdrawal also increases Guy's property distribution by the amount of the withdrawal, penalty, and additional tax.
The district court ordered Guy to pay $1535 per month for three minor children, $1288 per month for two minor children, and $877 per month for one minor child. The district court based its award of child support on Guy continuing to work in his present job and working at least 300 to 400 hours of overtime per year. We agree with the district court that 300 to 400 hours of overtime is a realistic figure based upon Guy's health, work history, and the continued availability of overtime.
The district court also awarded Mary traditional alimony taking note of her status as a stay-at-home mom, her state of health, and her financial disadvantages. The court awarded Mary alimony of $1000 per month, to increase to $1750 per month after Guy's child support obligation ends, until she remarries, she dies, Guy dies, or he reaches age sixty-six, at which time all alimony obligations shall end. Additionally, the court ordered Guy to maintain $100,000 of life insurance with Mary as the named beneficiary as long as he is eligible to obtain term life insurance from his employer. Finally, the district court ordered Guy to pay $5000 towards Mary's attorney fees. Guy appealed.
Our court of appeals affirmed the district court decision concerning the property division, child support, and attorney fees. The court of appeals modified the district court decision by awarding Mary rehabilitative alimony of $1000 per month for four years. The modified award does not increase when Guy's child support obligation ends, and it terminates if Mary dies, remarries, or cohabitates with a male. Along with the modification of the alimony award, the court of appeals ordered Guy's obligation to maintain life insurance for Mary's benefit to end when the alimony obligation terminates.
Mary filed an application for further review, which we granted. In Mary's application for further review, she claims the court of appeals erred when it replaced the district court's award of traditional alimony with rehabilitative alimony. In Guy's resistance, he argues the facts supported the award of rehabilitative alimony by the court of appeals. Neither party argued about the property settlement, child support, or attorney fees in the application for further review or the resistance. Even though we have the discretion to review any issue raised on appeal regardless of whether such issue is expressly asserted in an application for further review, in this case we will let the court of appeals decision stand as to the property settlement, child support, and attorney fees. See State v. Doggett, 687 N.W.2d 97, 99 (Iowa 2004) (). In exercising our discretion, we will only review the alimony issue.
When determining whether an award of alimony is appropriate under the facts of a particular case, we have stated:
Alimony is a stipend to a spouse in lieu of the other spouse's legal obligation for support. Alimony is not an absolute right, and an award thereof depends upon the circumstances of a particular case. When making or denying an alimony award, the trial court considers the factors set forth in Iowa Code section 598.21(3). Although our review of the trial court's award is de novo, we accord the trial court considerable latitude in making this determination and will disturb the ruling only when there has been a failure to do equity.
In re Marriage of Spiegel, 553 N.W.2d 309, 319 (Iowa 1996) (citations omitted).
Iowa Code section 598.21(3) (2003) describes the various factors the court considers in ordering support payments to a party in a dissolution case. The factors relevant to the instant...
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