Opinion ID: 1246954
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: delinquency of parties considered in fixing alimony

Text: 11. Since Buerfening v. Buerfening, 23 Minn. 563, this court has recognized that the delinquency of the parties is a material element in fixing the amount of alimony and the division of property. This principle has been recognized in a succession of cases. [20] In Swanson v. Swanson, 233 Minn. 354, 359, 46 N.W. (2d) 878, 882, we said:    so far as we can determine no court in this state has held that the conduct of the wife should not be considered as a factor bearing on the amount of the award to which she may be entitled upon a divorce. Sacred as the marriage relationship should be, plaintiff appears not to have cherished her marriage except for the material benefit it gave her. We fail to see that a marriage of this kind will be made more sacred by judicial action directed solely at preserving its most mundane benefits for the wife. We do not wish to imply that in a divorce action marital rights are to be purchased or sold for what they are worth in material and spiritual terms. We hold merely that a wife will not be heard to say that her husband should be held to a full performance of his marital duties where she has neglected to perform hers. This holding is not based upon a strict contract theory, but rather upon the theory that the marriage relationship embodies mutual obligations, which will be more highly regarded if they are mutually enforceable.    It does not seem likely that marital harmony will be promoted if a wife may drive her husband from her without prejudice to her claim for alimony and property.