Case Name: Helen BRANTON v. John E. BRANTON
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1990-04-04
Citations: 559 So. 2d 1038
Docket Number: No. 89-CA-0148
Parties: Helen BRANTON v. John E. BRANTON.
Judges: Before ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., and SULLIVAN and PITTMAN, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 559
Pages: 1038–1042

Head Matter:
Helen BRANTON v. John E. BRANTON.
No. 89-CA-0148.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
April 4, 1990.
Willard L. Mcllwain, Greenville, for appellant.
Philip Mansour, Mansour & Mansour, Greenville, for appellee.
Before ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., and SULLIVAN and PITTMAN, JJ.

Opinion:
PITTMAN, Justice,
for the Court:
Helen and John Branton were married in 1974 and again on September 9, 1977, in order to make sure that all formalities had been complied with. No children resulted from this marriage. Mrs. Branton was 63 and Mr. Branton was 67 at the time of the hearings in this cause. On October 20, 1988, Mrs. Branton filed for divorce, alleging habitual cruel and inhuman treatment and irreconcilable differences. On the same day Mrs. Branton moved separately for temporary relief, a motion which was later amended. On November 14, 1988, a hearing was held on Mrs. Branton's petition for temporary alimony and temporary possession of the residence of the Bran-tons. As a result of this hearing the trial court made certain findings of fact, resulting in its ultimate finding that Mrs. Bran-ton was not entitled to temporary relief.
On November 30, 1988, a hearing was held on the matters of divorce and alimony, as Mrs. Branton dismissed her petition for separate maintenance at the outset of the hearing. The court found as a result that Mrs. Branton was entitled to a divorce on the ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. The court also made detailed findings of fact concerning the financial status of the respective parties. Referring to its earlier findings made after the hearing for temporary relief, the court found that the '-'reasonable monthly expenses in connection with the operation of the parties' residence are $2,500.00." The residence used to produce this figure was White Hall, a fourteen-room house (including five bedrooms), to which the trial court assigned a value of approximately $100,-000. The residence was owned free and clear by Mr. Branton, a fact considered by the court. The court found that Mrs. Bran-ton had income available to her from her own resources of $1100/month, and awarded her $1400/month periodic alimony, the difference between the expense figure and her own monthly income. Despite the fact that it had calculated Mrs. Branton's expenses based on her continued residence in White Hall, the trial court awarded the residence to Mr. Branton. The trial court also made findings concerning the respective partiés' net worth, and particularly Mrs. Branton's contributions to the accumulation of any gain of net worth during the marriage. As a result the trial court awarded Mrs. Branton lump sum alimony of $60,000. The court further awarded her half of the couple's jointly acquired furnishings and appliances and $1500 in attorney's fees. The court also ordered Mr. Branton to pay all medical, dental and eye care expenses for Mrs. Branton not covered by medical insurance or Medicare.
Mrs. Branton alleges first that the lump sum alimony award amounts to an abuse of discretion. An award of alimony and its form and/or amount are within the discretion of the trial court. Miss.Code Ann. § 93-5-23 (Supp.1989) A wife is due reasonable alimony, commensurate with her standard of living, and the husband's ability to pay. Banks v. Banks, 511 So.2d 933, 936 (Miss.1987). A divorcing spouse who has assisted his wife or her husband in the accumulation of wealth during the marriage as reflected by an increase in net worth may be awarded lump sum alimony reflecting an equitable portion of the increase. Jones v. Jones, 532 So.2d 574, 580 (Miss.1988). Other factors considered by this Court include the length of the marriage, the amount of separate income available to the divorcing spouse, and the amount of financial security the lump sum award may provide. Cheatham v. Cheatham, 537 So.2d 435, 438 (Miss.1988). The lump sum award is based on the finding that before the marriage, the assets of the respective parties had been $817,000 for Mr. Branton and $30,000 for Mrs. Branton. The chancellor further found that Mr. Branton's worth had increased $446,000 during the course of the marriage, and Mrs. Branton's assets had increased by $110,754.11. The trial court also found that though Mrs. Branton had been involved in Mr. Branton's construction business, the contribution she had made had not been significant, and that her efforts had been concentrated more as a homemaker. There was no manifest error as far as the trial court's findings of fact are concerned. However, considering all of the above-mentioned factors, particularly the length of the marriage, the respective net worths of the parties, and the contributions made by Mrs. Branton to the business and the marital home, it is evident that the $60,000 lump sum award is so low as to be an abuse of discretion.
Mrs. Branton also argues that the award of $1400/month periodic alimony was error. The trial court specifically awarded this amount to take care of Mrs. Branton's expenses, and to provide her with a standard of living commensurate with what she had enjoyed in the past. As stated before, it found that her expenses were $2500, assuming that she was still living in White Hall. The court subtracted Mrs. Branton's separate monthly income, $1100, from the $2500 to arrive at her monthly award. Despite having arrived at her expenses by assuming she had access to a debt-free home, the court awarded the home to Mr. Branton. The court apparently did not make any allowance for housing in its award. Both because of the paucity of the amount and the manner it which it was computed, the court erred in making the periodic alimony award. The judgment of the chancery court, as it relates to the awards of lump sum and periodic alimony, is reversed and remanded.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., HAWKINS, P.J., and PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN, ANDERSON and BLASS, JJ., concur.
DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents.