Opinion ID: 2068198
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: whether the trial court abused its discretion in awarding alimony to paulette.

Text: Paulette was awarded $250/month as alimony until her remarriage or the death of either party. Steve asserts he is unemployed, his unemployment benefits have expired, and he has no funds after the property division out of which to make an alimony payment. The award of alimony is within the sound discretion of the trial court and its judgment will not be set aside unless it clearly appears that it abused its discretion. Strickland v. Strickland, 470 N.W.2d 832, 838 (S.D.1991). [D]ue regard must be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses and weigh their testimony. Tate, 394 N.W.2d at 310. In determining an alimony award, the trial court should consider the length of the marriage; the respective earning capacity of the parties; their respective financial condition after the property division; their respective age, health and physical condition; their station in life or social standing; and the relative fault in the termination of the marriage. Brooks v. Brooks, 470 N.W.2d 827, 829 (S.D.1991); Strickland, 470 N.W.2d at 838; Parsons v. Parsons, 469 N.W.2d 581, 583 (S.D.1991). The trial court made findings on most of these considerations, but failed to state the implications to be drawn from them. The parties were married approximately nineteen years and were thirty-nine years old at the time of trial. We have previously noted that a redetermination of the marital assets and debts must be made. We note, however, the parties have few liquid assets and most of those are pledged as collateral for loans correctly assigned to Paulette. The most liquid items, the tax refunds, were split equally, leaving each party in roughly the same non-liquid position. Although both parties have health problems, the record does not show that either party is incapable of working full-time. The parties do not live a high lifestyle. Even though Paulette was awarded a divorce on grounds of extreme cruelty, the trial court made no specific finding relative to fault so we do not consider the parties' alleged marital improprieties. Steve asserts the court erred in its determination of the respective earning capacities of the parties. We agree with the trial court's finding that Steve has a demonstrated ability to earn $30,000/year. We disagree with the trial court's finding that Steve has a present capability of earning a gross monthly income of $1,900/month, or $11.00/hour, which is the maximum wage Steve earned in Kansas City over the last three years. Steve has held only one job outside the trucking industry, the gardening job, which earned $10.00 an hour. There is no evidence regarding his wages in the few additional odd jobs he has had. He is currently unemployed, through circumstances beyond his control, despite his applications for work with dozens of trucking firms. The record is devoid of anything which would indicate Steve purposely became unemployed to avoid either alimony or child support payments. We note that at least in part, Steve went to Kansas City because all he could find in Sioux Falls were minimum wage jobs. Although Steve has not sought work outside of the trucking industry wherein he has been employed since high school, there is no evidence before the trial court which could lead to the conclusion that as a practical matter, Steve can presently earn $11.00 an hour. The court was clearly erroneous when it determined that Steve had a present capability of earning $1,900/month. The court was also clearly erroneous when it determined Paulette has the ability to earn only a minimum wage for a gross of $737/month. The trial court had before it the parties' 1988 joint tax return. The total salaries reported were almost $42,000. Even if we assume Steve worked the entire year, which was not the case, the 1988 income tax return shows that Paulette had to have made at least $12,000 that year. But because Steve did not work through all of 1988, Paulette's actual wages exceeded $12,000. The court's finding is substantially below what the evidence showed. [6] See Moser, 422 N.W.2d at 597. We therefore remand for a redetermination of their earning capacities. [7]