The parties entered into a consent order on 7 December 1993 covering, among other things, the issues of alimony pendente lite and temporary child support. A divorce decree was issued on 16 May 1994, and a consent order for equitable distribution was subsequently entered on 9 January 1995. The issues of permanent alimony and permanent child support were not addressed until the order that is the subject of this appeal. Other facts will be presented as necessary for the proper resolution of the issues raised by each party. We now turn to those issues.
Defendant first assigns error with the trial court's alimony award.
He does not take issue with plaintiff's entitlement to alimony, but rather takes issue with the amount the trial court ordered him to pay. Decisions regarding the amount of alimony are left to the sound discretion of the trial judge and will not be disturbed on appeal unless there has been a manifest abuse of that discretion. We find no such abuse of discretion here. This argument is completely without merit, and defendant even admitted as much at oral argument. N.C. Gen. Stat.