Court Opinion

ID: 9514091
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:44:20.392465+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:06:11.778184
License: Public Domain

SANDSTROM, Justice,
dissenting.
[¶ 58] I wrote in Sommer v. Sommer, 2001 ND 191, ¶ 27, 636 N.W.2d 423 (Sand-strom, J., concurring in the result):
Spousal support is appropriate when a party has been disadvantaged as a result of the marriage. Weigel v. Weigel, 2000 ND 16, ¶¶ 11-14, 604 N.W.2d 462; Brown v. Brown, 1999 ND 199, ¶ 32, 600 N.W.2d 869 (“A ‘disadvantaged’ spouse is one who has ‘foregone opportunities or lost advantages as a consequence of the marriage and who has contributed during the marriage to the supporting spouse’s increased earning capacity.’ ” (quoting Riehl v. Riehl, 1999 ND 107, ¶ 9, 595 N.W.2d 10)). Certainly in the case of long-term marriages, permanent spousal support may be appropriate, but it should not be the norm when rehabilitative support can overcome the disadvantage resulting from the marriage. I am reassured by the longstanding position of this Court that rehabilitative, not permanent, spousal support is preferred. See, e.g., van Oosting v. van Oosting, 521 N.W.2d 93, 100 (N.D.1994); Welder v. Welder, 520 N.W.2d 813, 818 (N.D.1994); Wiege v. Wiege, 518 N.W.2d 708, 711 (N.D.1994); Roen v. Roen, 438 N.W.2d 170, 172 (N.D.1989).
[¶ 59] To the extent that others have taken or would take this Court in a different direction, I am in disagreement. The long-term entanglement of divorced parties through permanent spousal support should be the exception, not the rule. That one party marries another with money should not be viewed as entitling the person to a lifetime of support after divorce regardless of any disadvantage resulting from the marriage.2
[¶ 60] In this case, the district court awarded rehabilitative spousal support and specified that it could be revisited later if necessary. See Schmitz v. Schmitz, 1998 ND 203, 586 N.W.2d 490. The district court’s spousal support award is supported by the evidence and should be affirmed.
[¶ 61] Dale V. Sandstrom

. It is not at all clear how the footnote in the other dissent responds to what I have written here. I do note, however, that the legislature has provided that the possibility of spousal support is on a gender-neutral basis, see N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1, and that is the way it should be considered. Parties are entitled to be treated as individuals and not to have their cases decided on the basis of stereotypes.