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In re Marriage of Anliker4/1/2005
Further review of court of appeals decision affirming district court's division of debt and reversing district court's award of spousal support in the form of permanent alimony, replacing it with spousal support in the form of rehabilitative alimony. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
In this dissolution of marriage proceeding, Scott Anliker appealed from the district court's award of spousal support in the form of traditional alimony to his spouse Donna Anliker and from the court's division of marital debt. We transferred the case to the court of appeals, which reversed the award of spousal support in the form of traditional alimony and awarded her, in lieu of this form of support, rehabilitative alimony. The court affirmed on the issue of debt division. We granted Donna's application for further review. We affirm the court of appeals decision on the division of debt issue. However, we vacate its decision on the spousal support issue, concluding the district court correctly ordered spousal support in the form of traditional alimony. Because of the conclusions we reach, we affirm the district court judgment in all respects.
I. Background Facts
Donna and Scott were married on December 27, 1984. At the time he was twenty-one and she was thirty-three. Donna had three children from a previous marriage, two of whom lived with Donna and Scott and the other child lived with his father.
The parties decided that Donna should stay home and care for the children rather than look for outside employment and incur transportation and child care expenses. Donna, however, did work at a variety of jobs from 1984 through 1996, but never full time.
In 1996 while working at a gas station, Donna fell and injured her left knee. She had multiple surgeries on her knee as a result of the fall, including knee replacement. She has never fully recovered from the injury. Her left leg is crippled and is one inch shorter than her right leg, causing her to hobble as she walks. The difference in leg length affects her hips and back. She anticipates additional surgeries as a result of her injury.
In addition to her knee condition, Donna has other health problems. Her left kidney was removed several years before trial of this matter. Her right kidney functions, but there is a cyst in it. Her thyroid was removed shortly before the parties' marriage, and she takes Synthroid because of this. She also takes Premarin, a hormone replacement. These prescriptions cost $40 per month. She also takes over-the-counter pain medication.
Although Donna can drive, she sometimes suffers from leg cramps. She can dress and groom herself, although putting on shoes, socks, and bottoms can be challenging so that she sometimes needs help tying her shoes. She has great difficulty standing for two to three hours at a time.
Donna's earnings from 1972 through 2001 are reflected in a report from the Social Security Administration. During that time span, there were seven years in which she did not earn any income (1973, 1975, 1983, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000). She did not work from 1997 through 2000 because of her knee injury. For six of the years she did work (1972, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1984), her income was less than $1000. In five of those years (1977, 1978, 1980, 1985, and 1987), her income was between $1000 and $2000. In three of the years she worked (1976, 1986, and 1988), Donna's income was between $2000 and $4000. She earned between $4000 and $7000 for eight of the years she worked (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 2001). Donna's highest income was $7823 in 1996.
In
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