Opinion ID: 2812193
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: Laura and Glenn married in 1982. Neither was the other’s first spouse, and their marriage did not produce any children. At the time of trial, Laura was 95 and Glenn was 94. Glenn is retired now, but he used to farm and operate a fertilizer business. Laura did not work outside the home. According to Glenn, Laura did not help in the fields, although he stated that she might have retrieved parts for his fertilizer business. He testified that she helped with the fertilizer business only on “a minimal scale.” Regarding her contributions to the marriage, Laura testified that she took messages to Glenn, retrieved parts, prepared lunches, and helped move livestock. She testified that she answered the telephone for Glenn’s fertilizer business, and even put a line in the bathroom so that she could take calls while dressing. Glenn denied that Laura installed a telephone for this purpose. Laura admitted that she did not help as much after Glenn’s daughter and son-in-law, Karin and Bruce Droge, took over the farming operation. Laura and Glenn initially lived in a brick farmhouse. In 1985, the Droges moved into the farmhouse and Laura and Glenn moved into a mobile home. Laura stated that she paid $25,000 for the mobile home. Both Laura and Glenn estimated that the mobile home was now worth $15,000. In 1986, Glenn and the Droges executed a farm lease whereby Glenn rented all the farmland he owned to the Droges. The lease states that it will be effective for 10 years, but Bruce testified that he and Glenn “continued it on a verbal basis” after 1996. Bruce testified that he currently pays an annual rent of about $100 per acre. Laura and Glenn maintained separate checking accounts during their marriage, and each paid half of the couple’s expenses. Over the years, Laura made numerous loans to Glenn. Glenn testified that he did not owe Laura any money - 258 - Nebraska A dvance Sheets 291 Nebraska R eports BINDER v. BINDER Cite as 291 Neb. 255 at the time of trial, but Laura thought that he owed more than $25,000. Glenn stated that Laura moved into a nursing home in December 2012. Glenn said that before Laura moved, she was “incapacitated” and confined to a wheelchair for 2 years and he cared for her during this period. Glenn continued to live in the mobile home after Laura left. Laura initially used her savings to pay for her nursing home care. After 10 months, she exhausted her savings and Glenn began paying $3,200 per month. Glenn testified that he has paid about $30,000 to the nursing home and that he had to borrow money from the Droges to do so. Laura has a monthly income of $2,927.40, which consists of her Social Security benefit, a long-term care insurance benefit, and a small pension from her prior husband. Laura has monthly expenses of $6,230, of which $5,369 is for the nursing home. So, she testified that she ran a monthly deficit of $3,302.60. Laura has no assets beyond a checking account worth about $5,000. According to Glenn, his monthly income is $2,890.73, about $1,700 of which is rental income. The remainder is his Social Security benefit. Glenn owns several farms and part of a residential lot. He stated that he is the sole trustee of a trust that “holds” the four parcels of real estate for him. Glenn said that he “can cancel [the trust] at any time, basically.” Statements from the Pawnee County assessor for tax year 2013 show that Glenn, as the trustee of an unnamed trust, was assessed taxes on four pieces of real estate totaling about 222 acres. The combined taxable value was nearly $560,000. Laura and Glenn agreed that the real estate is Glenn’s premarital property. The court dissolved the marriage and ordered Glenn to pay $3,302.60 per month in alimony. The court explained that the alimony was “to offset any costs [Laura] has at the nursing home.” The decree awarded the mobile home to Glenn but required him to pay Laura $15,000 for her interest. The court decided that the “loan issue” was “a wash.” - 259 - Nebraska A dvance Sheets 291 Nebraska R eports BINDER v. BINDER Cite as 291 Neb. 255 ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR Glenn assigns that the court erred by ordering him to pay an amount of alimony that drives his net monthly income below the poverty threshold in the Nebraska Child Support Guidelines.