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Rodriguez v. Rodriguez11/30/2000
e, all to be paid to Glenda, but in the form of partial payments at the rate of $250.00 per month until satisfied.
The trial judge granted Glenda an award of attorney's fees in the amount of $2,500.00 and allowed Antonio to satisfy that obligation at the rate of $100.00 per month. The judge also ordered Glenda to pay Antonio $277.00 a month for the support of the parties' minor daughter. The judge permitted Glenda to pay Antonio $177.00 a month, which is the difference between the monthly child support she was required to pay and the monthly pay-off for the attorney's fees he was required to pay.
No reference is made in either the decree or the record to any source of money for either party independent of their earnings. Antonio earns a comfortable annual income of $75,000.00 which is significantly larger than Glenda's annual income of approximately $14,000.00. Glenda was forty-two years old and Antonio was forty-three years old when the decree was entered. Antonio is healthy and quite able to work. Glenda is ill. The trial judge acknowledged her condition and consequent limited ability to earn a living at the conclusion of trial, stating:
"Her illness. She has told me she is ill. We can see she is ill to a certain extent, but she also works...I am convinced that she has certain medical problems, but that those problems do not prohibit her from working at least to the extent that she works. So I am presuming that she has the ability to earn the money that she is making, no more, no less, but that she has that same capacity in the summer either at that job or another job for purpose of what we will do with both parties." (Emphasis added.)
We conclude that Glenda did possess a meritorious claim for alimony as reference to the Buchanan factors readily reveals. Glenda, a middle-aged woman with health problems, was forced to survive on a meager income after enjoying a comfortable lifestyle within a marriage of lengthy duration. It is not anticipated that she will ever be able to earn more. In contrast, Antonio maintains the financial ability to continue to live comfortably. He has risen steadily to a management position in the casino industry. There is no justice or equity in denying alimony to a woman who, because of her physical condition, will likely never earn more than the small amount she now earns. Glenda has been impoverished as a result of the divorce , while Antonio's financial security is assured because of his far superior earning power. The trial judge should have analyzed the merits of Glenda's request for alimony with reference to these factors. The trial judge abused his discretion in failing to award alimony in a just and equitable sum.
Therefore, we reverse the portion of the district court's divorce decree denying an award of alimony to Glenda and remand this matter so that the district court may determine an amount of alimony that appears just and equitable, without consideration of her extra-marital affair or other perceived fault or misconduct.
ROSE, C.J., YOUNG, MAUPIN, SHEARING, LEAVITT, and BECKER, JJ., concur.
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