Opinion ID: 1167551
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: trial court's award of alimony.

Text: Margaret was awarded $3,000 per month alimony. The rehabilitative alimony was to be paid for six years to assist her in the transition from being a participant in an economic partnership to supporting herself. Margaret contends that the court's award of alimony in this amount was justified by the need to equalize her earnings with Robert's. Robert challenges this award. He argues that it is unjust, unnecessary and contrary to decisions of this court. An award of alimony is within the trial court's discretion and will be set aside only if it is unjust or unnecessary. Messina v. Messina, 583 P.2d 804 (Alaska 1978). Recently, we reiterated our position that alimony is not just and necessary when the property division can adequately provide for the reasonable needs of the spouse seeking alimony. Hilliker v. Hilliker, 755 P.2d 1111, 1112 (Alaska 1988) (and cases cited therein). Rehabilitative alimony may be awarded for a specific purpose and a short duration even with an adequate property division, Bussell v. Bussell, 623 P.2d 1221, 1224 (Alaska 1981), but is limited to job training or other means directly related to entry or advancement within the work force. Schanck v. Schanck, 717 P.2d 1, 5 (Alaska 1986). The party seeking rehabilitative alimony must intend to use it for such purposes. Miller v. Miller, 739 P.2d 163, 165 (Alaska 1987). Absent such an intent, rehabilitative alimony should not be awarded. Id. [6] Applying the foregoing analysis to this case, we conclude that the trial court's award of rehabilitative alimony was an abuse of discretion. Margaret has a college degree and was employed at the time of the trial. She disclaimed any need for or intent to seek retraining. Absent any intention to pursue training, Margaret was not entitled to rehabilitative alimony. See Miller, 739 P.2d at 165. Margaret argues that the award is not unjust and unnecessary because it equalizes her income with Robert's. She reasons that it is fair to award alimony in this case because of the difference between her earning capacity and Robert's. However, differences in earning capacity should be taken into account in the property division. Merrill v. Merrill, 368 P.2d 546, 547-48 n. 4 (Alaska 1962). As observed in Dixon v. Dixon, 747 P.2d 1169, 1173 (Alaska 1987), in some cases it may be appropriate to give a larger share of the marital estate to the spouse with the smaller earning capacity. [7] 747 P.2d at 1173.