Jordan v. Jordan
| Decision Date | 14 June 1989 |
| Parties | Oris Dwance JORDAN v. Barbara Rose JORDAN. Civ. 6889. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
Joseph C. McCorquodale III and Jacqualyn M. Sheffield of McCorquodale & McCorquodale, Jackson, for appellant.
Wyman O. Gilmore, Jr., Grove Hill, for appellee.
This proceeding was initiated by the wife when she filed a complaint seeking divorce on the ground of incompatibility of temperament. Following an ore tenus proceeding, the trial court granted the divorce, awarded custody of the parties' minor child to the wife and visitation rights to the husband, divided the parties' real and personal property, and made certain awards to the wife. The husband now appeals to this court.
The parties were married for 27 years. They have six children, only one of whom is still under the age of majority. That child is now twelve years old. The husband does not contest the custody award on appeal. The husband was ordered to pay child support of $50.00 per week and periodic alimony of $20.00 per week. He was also ordered to pay $500.00 to the wife's lawyer. The wife was awarded a 74-acre parcel of property free and clear of all debt, and the husband was awarded the marital residence and all other parcels of real property, two of which were inherited by the husband from his father. Some of the property is encumbered by a mortgage in favor of the husband's mother and stepfather, which secures a loan to the husband that he used to pay marital debts and business expenses. We pretermit any further recitation of the evidence. Because of the vast number of cases on the same legal subject, little or nothing would be contributed to the law of this state by reciting the facts of the instant case in detail.
The husband contends on appeal that the trial court abused its discretion in dividing the parties' real property, setting the amount of the support payments, and awarding attorney's fees to the wife.
The husband argues initially that there is no material conflict in the evidence, and, therefore, that we should not afford a presumption of correctness to the trial court's judgment. We find no merit to that argument. Our review of this case is governed by the ore tenus rule. When evidence is presented to the trial court ore tenus, its judgment is presumed to be correct and will be affirmed on appeal if it is supported by credible evidence. Phillips v. Phillips, 515 So.2d 8 (Ala.Civ.App.1987). Further, it is axiomatic that property division and awards of alimony, child support, and attorney's fees are discretionary with the trial court. We are not authorized to disturb the trial court's decision in these matters unless we find that the trial court palpably abused its discretion. Moore v. Moore, 537 So.2d 961 (Ala.Civ.App.1988); Jones v. Jones, 454 So.2d 1006 (Ala.Civ.App.1984).
There are no fixed standards for determining alimony or dividing property. Instead, there are many factors a trial court should consider in making these awards, such as the length of the marriage, the value and type of property owned, and each party's age, sex, health, future prospects, station in life, earning capacity, and conduct. Moore, supra. In arguing that the wife should not have been awarded alimony, the husband fails to recognize several of the factors available for the trial court's consideration. We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's decision to award $20.00 per week in alimony to the wife.
The husband also contends that the division of real property favors the wife and is an inequitable distribution. Even if a property division favors one party over the other, that is not, in and of itself, an abuse of discretion. Prestwood v. Prestwood, 523 So.2d 1071 (Ala.Civ.App.1988). There is simply no requirement that marital property be divided equally. The only mandate governing a trial court's exercise of discretion in this area is that the property division must be equitable. Moore, supra; ...
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Ex Parte Andrews
...if a property division favors one party over the other, that is not, in and of itself, an abuse of discretion." Jordan v. Jordan, 547 So.2d 574, 576 (Ala.Civ.App.1989). See also Jenkins v. Jenkins, 781 So.2d 986, 989 (Ala.Civ. App.2000) ("The trial court's property division and its alimony ......
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Langley v. Langley
...evidence of the conduct of the parties may be considered, inter alia, by the trial court in fashioning its awards. Jordan v. Jordan, 547 So.2d 574 (Ala.Civ.App.1989), Lones v. Lones, 542 So.2d 1244 (Ala.Civ.App.1989), and Coby v. Coby, 489 So.2d 597 (Ala.Civ.App.1986). Even if a divorce is ......
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Martin v. Martin
...812 (Ala.Civ.App.1984) ]. An award that favors one party over the other is not in and of itself an abuse of discretion. Jordan v. Jordan, 547 So.2d 574 (Ala.Civ.App.1989)." Boykin v. Boykin, 628 So.2d 949, 952 (Ala.Civ.App.1993). Moreover, this court has stated that"[t]he factors the trial ......
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E.A.B. v. D.G.W.
...if a property division favors one party over the other, that is not, in and of itself, an abuse of discretion.’ Jordan v. Jordan, 547 So.2d 574, 576 (Ala.Civ.App.1989).”Id. at 532. In the present case, the marital assets for which the record indicates a value have a total net value of $2,39......