Court Opinion

ID: 9859444
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 21:43:01.370633+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:00:48.887282
License: Public Domain

ABRAHAMSON, J.
(dissenting). The majority concludes that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in providing for alimony for a limited period of time. Unfortunately the majority opinion does not set forth the criteria or standards which the trial court should or did apply in making its decision. I therefore find it difficult to understand how the majority could then review the trial court’s judgment and find no abuse of discretion.
Sec. 247.26, Stats., does not set forth the factors to be considered in awarding alimony.1 This court has set *151them forth in the cases. The legislature has empowered the trial court to grant alimony for a limited period of time, but the legislature has not set forth factors to guide the courts in awarding “limited alimony.” This court must do so if it is to review the trial court’s determination.
This court has said, on numerous occasions, that the question of alimony is one within the discretion of the trial court and its decision should be based on all the facts and circumstances of the particular case.
The term discretion contemplates a process of reasoning. The process depends on facts that are of record or that are reasonably derived by inference from the record. The discretion must in fact be exercised and the trial judge must set forth the basis for the exercise of discretion. Adherence to this practice facilitates the decision-making process of the trial court in the first instance and aids appellate review.
I.
In awarding alimony for a limited time, the trial court should first consider the factors this court has set forth for determining alimony for an indefinite time. Justice ROBERT HANSEN in Hirth v. Hirth, 48 Wis.2d 491, 180 N.W.2d 601 (1970), set forth the two basic factors for the trial court to consider in awarding maintenance *152of indefinite duration — (1) the needs of the spouse (here the wife) requiring maintenance; and (2) the ability of the other spouse (here the husband) to pay. Alimony is thus placed on an economic basis — the need of one spouse and the ability of the other to pay.
As set forth in Hirth the factors to be considered as to the needs of the wife include: assets of wife; income of wife; age and physical and mental health of the wife; length of marriage and station of life. As Justice HANSEN noted, payments for maintenance “are not reparations for years spent as spouse. However, the length of marriage can affect employability, and does reflect the established standard and mode of living of the parties.” As to “station of life,” Justice HANSEN cautioned that “court concern must be given to entitling both to live separately as reasonably well as possible under the circumstances.”2
The factors to be considered as to the ability to pay of the husband include: assets of husband; income of husband; debts of husband; age and health of husband; presence or absence of children. Hirth v. Hirth, supra. The husband’s obligation to support minor children bears a direct relationship to his ability to pay alimony, and the wife’s obligation to take care of minor children affects the wife’s ability to be employed outside the house.
*153The concept of alimony for a limited time is a logical extension of the concept adopted by this court of placing alimony on an economic basis. Limited alimony can be viewed as a clearing of the accounts of an economic partnership. In this case limited alimony would be based on a determination that one partner should contribute to the other in recognition of (1) the uncompensated contribution made by the spouse at home to the family’s well being; (2) the loss of earning capacity suffered by the spouse during the period at home; and (3) the continuing responsibility on the part of the paying spouse to meet the financial needs of the homemaker spouse for a specified period to enable the homemaker to be self-supporting.3
*154Limited alimony has at least three purposes: (1) providing an incentive and funds for a recipient spouse to seek employment or training for employment; (2) limiting the responsibility of the paying spouse to a time certain; and (3) avoiding future litigation relating to the modification of and enforcement of alimony. The trial court must, in determining whether to grant limited alimony, weigh these purposes against an appraisal of (1) the ability of the recipient spouse to become self-sufficient; (2) the ability of the paying spouse to continue the obligation of support for an indefinite time; and (3) the need for continuing jurisdiction of the court under the circumstances of the case. Care must be taken that a paying spouse is not relieved of an obligation to support a needy former spouse so that the obligation of support is imposed on the taxpayers of this state. Taake v. Taake, 70 Wis.2d 115, 130, 233 N.W.2d 449 (1975) (dissenting opinion).
II.
In the case at bar the trial court was unable to determine, from the facts presented to it, the ability of the recipient spouse to become self-supporting. The trial judge therefore could not make a realistic appraisal and evaluation of the recipient spouse’s (here the wife’s) *155true capabilities and prospects in the market place, including the time, education, training and counseling that might be needed to enable the wife to find appropriate employment. The judge therefore could not appropriately exercise his discretion to award limited alimony.
The record in this case is silent as to the wife’s future employment opportunities. The record is silent as to her earning capability; there are no facts on which a realistic estimate of her future wage-earning capacity could be based. The record is silent as to what job her college degree in home economics (now twenty years old) equips her to hold. The record is silent as to the salary range of any job for which she would be qualified, and as to the possibility or probability of her getting a job in the community under present economic conditions. The record is silent as to whether she needs additional training or the time period for such retraining. The record is silent as to a realistic estimate of her need for or ability to profit from retraining.4
The trial court stated that it was granting alimony for a period limited to the children’s minority for the following reasons:
1. “That the [wife’s] health and education appear to enable her to obtain gainful employment.”5
*1562. “That the [husband’s] abilities are such that [the wife] should not be required to be dependent solely upon her own earnings
3. “That [the wife’s] stocks will produce some dividends.”6
4. “That an important consideration is that the [wife] should be free to give primary attention to her responsibilities as a mother, however, the children are old enough that perhaps part-time employment is indicated
5. “That the [wife] has made a substantial investment in this marriage and that the [husband] now possesses skills which are productive of substantial earnings and that the [wife’s] skills have not been used and she now would enter the job market at a disadvantage and she has no tenure.”
6. “That the award of alimony as aforesaid is the basis of awarding the [wife] a lesser share of the estate which it would have awarded if there had been a division of estate in lieu of alimony but further finds that her alimony should not necessarily be terminated if she obtains full-time employment.”
7. “That the [wife] is encouraged to obtain employment if at all possible so as not to depreciate her opportunities.” (Emphasis added.)7
*157The trial court recognized the wife’s need to take care of the children and suggested part-time employment. The court had no facts before it relating to the kind of job she was equipped to get or the expected compensation of such part-time employment. The court recognized that Mrs. Johnson is at a disadvantage in not having worked and not having job tenure, yet it suggested she continue to postpone full-time entry into the job market by remaining at home taking care of the children. The record shows the judge did not take into account the fact that this unemployed, not-recently-trained woman will be forty-eight years old when her youngest reaches the age of majority. At age forty-eight she will for the first time in twenty years seek full-time employment. Must we not recognize that even with retraining, the job opportunities open to a forty-eight year old woman at the entry level might be very limited ? It should be noted that when the judge did refer to the wife’s employment potential he expressed doubts as to her ability to get a job. The judge *158said Mrs. Johnson “is encouraged to obtain employment if at all possible.” Yet clearly the amount of alimony awarded and the property settlement are such that Mrs. Johnson cannot be self-supporting when the alimony stops unless she is employed full-time at that time.
On the basis of the findings of fact, the reasoning of the judge, and a record which is silent as to the wife’s earning capabilities, I would find that the grant of limited alimony is not supported by an adequate record. In this case the wife’s future earnings and her earning capacity are completely unsubstantiated and an award of limited alimony is an abuse of discretion.8
We are in an era of great social change. In 1977 many wives and mothers are employed outside the home. Indeed in 1977 the United States Department of Labor reported that women make up more than 50 percent of the labor force of the country. Nevertheless, there are many women in Wisconsin who, like the wife here, have not been expected to work and have not worked, for compensation outside the home. The wife has devoted her full-time efforts and attention to promoting the interests of her spouse, caring for the home and tending the minor children. This woman’s full-time career has been as a homemaker, and the trial judge found that she had made a “substantial investment in this marriage.” Inside the home the homemaker may have worked more than forty hours a week at less than the minimum wage. Yet outside the home the skills are not marketable.
Alimony is not inconsistent with the current concepts of equality of men and women. Although many women are as well educated and trained in the trades, professions and business world as their male counterparts, not all women have had the benefits of such education or *159training. We cannot proceed in a divorce case on the assumption of “legal equality of employment” beyond the extent to which it appears that such an assumption is justified in the particular case, that is, the individual woman in the case at bar has attained access or can obtain access to the job market to be self-supporting. Equality of men and women means eliminating sex stereotypes and looking at the individual. Just as it is unacceptable for the law to force all women into the mold of homemaker, it is similarly unacceptable to treat all women upon divorce as per se self-sufficient breadwinners in an open, full-employment job market.
It is desirable and necessary to encourage the recipient spouse to become equipped and trained for return to the job market. Alimony is unreliable. The paying spouse may lose employment, become ill, die, or avoid payment. Alimony can be harmful psychologically and economically to both parties. The paying spouse should not be destroyed by what some view as the devastating economic and psychological pressures of paying alimony. Too many recipients of alimony have been left in the degrading position of having to hound a former spouse for alimony. The problem of the impoverished elderly woman has often had its beginnings in a divorce decree.
Limited term alimony will in many cases be a highly desirable resolution of the problems presented in divorce cases. However, because of the finality of the limited alimony decree, it is particularly important that the trial court exercise great care to see to it that the assumptions concerning the recipient spouse’s future earning capacity which underlie such a decree are realistic. Complete knowledge will obviously be unattainable; economic conditions are always subject to change, and even the best-informed objective assessment of the income-producing prospects of a particular formerly-dependent spouse may not correspond to her actual performance. However, the fact that the inquiry must be made in terms of reasonable *160probabilities does not excuse the requirement that the inquiry be made.
In my opinion the trial court in the instant case did not give adequate consideration to the realistic probabilities of Mrs. Johnson’s employment opportunities and earning potential during the next six years and at the time when the limited alimony payments will terminate. Nor did it have before it a sufficient record to enable adequate consideration to be given. I am therefore unable to say whether or not this was an appropriate case for limited alimony. I would reverse that part of the judgment providing alimony for a limited time and remand the matter to the trial court for the taking of additional evidence and for redetermination by the trial court in light of the considerations set forth in this opinion. Because the trial judge considered the alimony award and division of the estate to be closely related, I would reverse the judgment on the division of the estate also.
III.
I would also reverse the judgment as to payment for the disputed prosthesis and remand that issue for additional evidence. I would have the trial court consider the wishes of the child involved; the views of a twelve-year old as to her prosthesis are, to my mind, worthy of careful attention. Under any circumstances, Dr. Johnson should contribute an amount equal to the cost of one prosthesis or other. He should not be relieved of all financial responsibility for a prosthesis.
I am authorized to state that Mr. Justice ROBERT HANSEN and Mr. Justice DAY join in this dissent.

 See sec. 42 of Engrossed 1977 Assembly Bill 100, 1977 Legislature, which proposes the courts consider the following factors:
“247.26 MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS. (1) Upon every judgment of annulment, divorce or legal separation, the court may grant an order requiring maintenance payments to either party for a limited or indefinite length of time after considering:
“(a) The length of the marriage.
“(b) The age and physical and emotional health of the parties. “(c) The distribution of property made under s. 247.255.
“(d) The educational level of each party at the time of marriage and at the time of divorce or legal separation.
“(e) The earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to find appropriate employment.
“(f) The feasibility that the party seeking maintenance can become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage, and, if so, the length of time necessary to achieve this goal.
“ (g) The tax consequences to each party.
*151“(h) Any mutual agreement made by the parties before or during the marriage, according to the terms of which one party has made financial or service contributions to the other with the expectation of reciprocation or other compensation in the future, where such repayment has not been made, or any mutual agreement made by the parties before or during the marriage concerning any arrangement for the financial support of the parties.
“(i) Such other factors as the court may in each individual case determine to be relevant.”

 “Station in life. The mode and standard of living of the parties during their marriage is one, but only one, of the factors that may be considered by the court. This is not to imply any entitlement of the wife to live, after divorce or separation, at same socioeconomic level that marked the years of living together. Ordinarily this is not possible. Whether or not two can live as cheaply as one, two persons living under two roofs cannot live as well as the same two persons living under one roof. Court concern must be given to entitling both to live separately as reasonably well as is possible under the circumstances. Here the court referred only to the ‘station in life’ of the wife, but it is evident that the court concern was with the standard of living of both parties, not the wife alone.” Hirth v. Hirth, supra, 48 Wis.2d at 494.

 The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act provides that upon divorce the property division should be the “primary means of providing for the future financial needs of the spouses.” Alimony, which the Act calls “maintenance,” is provided only when the property division provides insufficient resources and the spouse is unable to be self-supporting through appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child. The amount and duration of payments for maintenance are to be determined after the court considers certain factors.
Sec. 308 of the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act provides:
“Maintenance
“(a) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or maintenance following a decree of dissolution of the marriage by a court which lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, the court may grant a maintenance order for either spouse only if it finds that the spouse seeking maintenance:
“(1) lacks sufficient property to provide for his reasonable needs; and
“(2) is unable to support himself through appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it appropriate that the custodian not be required to seek employment outside the home.
“(b) The maintenance order shall be in amounts and for periods of time the court deems just, without regard to marital misconduct, and after considering all relevant factors including:
“(1) the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, including marital property apportioned to him, his ability to meet his needs independently, and the extent to which a provision for *154support of a child living with, the party includes a sum for that party as custodian;
“(2) the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment;
“(3) the standard of living established during the marriage;
“(4) the duration of the marriage;
“(5) the age and the physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance; and
“(6) the ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance.”

 With respect to job training, at least one court has found that under appropriate circumstances a wife should be given the opportunity to obtain an education based on her potential comparable to the one her husband received as a result of her assistance by working during their marriage. Morgan v. Morgan, 81 Misc.2d 616, 366 N.Y.S.2d 977 (1976), modif. 383 N.Y.S.2d 343 (1976).

 The court had made the following findings of fact relating to the wife’s health, education and employment:
“Fifteenth. That the plaintiff has a college degree in home economics and has not sought employment during the marriage after the children were born; that she has had several interviews and might seek employment; that the plaintiff appears to be in good health.
*156“Twenty-fourth. That the Court finds that the plaintiff has some earning ability and will probably seek part-time, if not full-time employment.”

 The fair market value of the stock is about $15,000. If there was an average dividend yield of 5 percent, the income from the stock is $750 per year.

 The Findings of Fact state:
“Twenty-sixth. That the amount of division of estate and alimony are inter-related; that the Court has elected to grant the plaintiff limited alimony for the following reasons: that plaintiff’s health and education appear to enable her to obtain gainful employment; and the Court finds that the defendant’s abilities are such that she should not be required to be dependent solely *157upon her own earnings; that the Court finds that plaintiff’s stocks will produce some dividends; that an important consideration is that the plaintiff should be free to give primary attention to her responsibilities as a mother, however, the children are old enough that perhaps part-time employment is indicated; the Court finds that the plaintiff has made a substantial investment in this marriage and that the defendant now possesses skills which are productive of substantial earnings and that plaintiff’s skills have not been used and she now would enter the job market at a disadvantage, and she has no tenure; that the Court finds it reasonable to award the plaintiff alimony only until the children all reach majority or are otherwise emancipated subject to termination upon the defendant’s death or plaintiff’s remarriage; the Court finds that the award of alimony as aforesaid is the basis of awarding the plaintiff a lesser share of the estate which it would have awarded if there had been a division of estate in lieu of alimony but further finds that her alimony should not necessarily be terminated if she obtains full-time employment; that the plaintiff is encouraged to obtain employment if at all possible so as not to depreciate her opportunities.”

 Compare this ease with In re Marriage of Rosen, 101 Cal. Rptr. 295, 24 C.A.3d 885, 895 (1972) and Friedlander v. Friedlander, 80 Wash.2d 293, 494 P.2d 208 (1972).