McNaughton v. McNaughton, 75--946
| Decision Date | 11 May 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 75--946,75--946 |
| Citation | 332 So.2d 673 |
| Parties | Monserrate B. McNAUGHTON, Appellant, v. Gerald D. McNAUGHTON, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Sinclair, Louis, Siegel & Heath and John L. Zavertnik, Miami, for appellant.
Law Offices of Swan & Summers, Miami, for appellee.
Before BARKDULL, C.J., and PEARSON and HENDRY, JJ.
Monserrate B. McNaughton appeals the final judgment dissolving her marriage to Gerald D. McNaughton. She assigns error upon the financial provisions made for her and the children.
The parties were married in 1957 when she was an airline stewardess and he was an airplane mechanic. The husband is now an airline pilot with an income of $52,086 per year. The wife has not worked outside the home since shortly after the marriage; the husband testified that she has been a good wife and mother. There are three children: Robert 15, Gregory 14 and Bert 7. The husband is now 42 and the wife is 43 years of age.
The husband and wife have lived well and now own a home and three cars. Since the husband left the home, he has rented an apartment for $205 per month and estimates that he needs $772 per month for expenses. The cost for the maintenance of the home are: mortgage payments and taxes, $375 per month; electricity, $92.18 per month; incidental care, about $37 per month.
The final judgment provides: (1) The wife is to have custody of the three children including child support of $125 per month for each child. 1 The husband is to provide for medical expenses. He may provide for private schooling for Bert, age 7, if he so desires. (2) The house is to remain as a tenancy in common, to be occupied by the wife and children until 1980. The wife is to pay the mortgage, insurance, and all other expenses of the property. The home and furniture are to be sold after January 1, 1980, or prior thereto if the wife remarries or the children no longer occupy the home. (3) The wife is to receive rehabilitative alimony as follows:
The wife contends: (1) The court erred in providing rehabilitative rather than permanent alimony; (2) the alimony and child support are inadequate; (3) the court erred in failing to retain jurisdiction for the possible further needs of the wife; (4) it was improper to require the wife to pay all of the fixed expenses of the home; and (5) the court erred in ordering the sale of the home. The husband contends that the awards are within the discretion of the trial judge and that the issue of the sale of the home was tried by mutual consent.
We hold that the trial judge erred in determining that the facts of this case called for rehabilitative alimony. See Reback v. Reback, Fla.App.1974, 296 So.2d 541; and Schwartz v. Schwartz, Fla.App.1974, 297 So.2d 117. This 43 year old mother has no income or training. She ought not be required to leave the home and the children in order to gain the means of support when the husband is well able to support his wife and children during the minority of the children. The wife will be 54 years old when the youngest child reaches 18. For the court to determine at this time that the wife can enter the labor market and support herself at that time is a prediction that need not be made at this time because the court may adjust alimony to changed conditions upon a proper petition. During the marriage, the husband maintained a good home and approved of the role of the wife. There is no reason that the dissolution should disrupt the home for the children so long as the husband is well able to maintain them in that home. We therefore, hold that error has been...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Smith v. Smith, 79-546
...awarded to her to be 'rehabilitative', and to terminate at the end of the stated period. As we similarly said in McNaughton v. McNaughton, 332 So.2d 673, 675 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), cert. denied, 345 So.2d 424 We hold that the trial judge erred in determining that the facts of this case called ......
-
Owens v. Owens, 88-1281
...(Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Elliott v. Elliott, 458 So.2d 1204 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Campbell v. Campbell, 432 So.2d 666; McNaughten v. McNaughten, 332 So.2d 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). The record in the instant case indicates that the appellee had worked in appellant's store during the marriage and pre......
-
Colucci v. Colucci, 80-796
...(Fla.1978); McAllister v. McAllister, 345 So.2d 352 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977), cert. denied, 357 So.2d 186 (Fla.1978); McNaughton v. McNaughton, 332 So.2d 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), cert. denied, 345 So.2d 424 (Fla.1977); Yohem v. Yohem, 324 So.2d 160 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); King v. King, 316 So.2d 322......
-
Mahaffey v. Mahaffey, 80-781
...parent. Alford v. Alford, 364 So.2d 1255 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Singer v. Singer, 342 So.2d 861 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); McNaughton v. McNaughton, 332 So.2d 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), cert. denied, 345 So.2d 424 (Fla.1977). The requirement that the wife be given credit on sale of the house for one-ha......