Benson v. Benson

876 So. 2d 1157, 2003 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 771, 2003 WL 22365146
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedOctober 17, 2003
Docket2011286
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 876 So. 2d 1157 (Benson v. Benson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Benson v. Benson, 876 So. 2d 1157, 2003 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 771, 2003 WL 22365146 (Ala. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

MURDOCK, Judge.

In July 2001, Edwin A. Benson (“the husband”) filed a complaint against Patricia Y. Benson (“the wife”), seeking a divorce on the ground of incompatibility of temperament and an equitable division of the parties’ real and personal property. The wife counterclaimed, seeking a divorce on the ground of adultery and an equitable division of the parties’ real and personal property, as well as “support.”

After an ore tenus proceeding, the Baldwin Circuit Court entered a judgment divorcing the parties on the grounds of incompatibility of temperament and irreconcilable differences. The divorce judgment awarded the wife, among other things, 10 acres of real property that she owned before the parties’ marriage (hereinafter referred to as “the Wilcox Road property”) (estimated fair market value of between $30,000 and $50,000);1 the remaining balance (approximately $20,000) of the $26,000 she had withdrawn during the pendency of the divorce proceedings from the parties’ joint equity-line-of-credit account; a 2001 Buick vehicle, along with the indebtedness owed thereon;2 a 1995 or 1996 Nissan pickup truck (estimated fair market value of $3,000); $2,500 in moving and temporary housing expenses; her personal effects; and all of the household furniture and household goods (except a piano, an armoire, and other musical instruments and equipment that were awarded to the husband).

The husband was awarded, among other things, the marital home (estimated fair market value of approximately $300,000, but subject to an outstanding equity line of credit in the approximate amount of $68,000); commercial real property that he owned before the parties’ marriage (hereinafter referred to as “the Fairhope property”) (estimated fair market value not included in the record, but subject to an outstanding mortgage indebtedness in the approximate amount of $136,0003); his stock in a family-owned business, Benson’s Appliance Center (“Benson’s), that he was part owner in before the parties’ marriage; a motor home (estimated fair market value of between $33,000 and $55,000);. a boat (estimated fair market value of $10,000, but subject to an outstanding indebtedness of $6,000 to $7,000); his personal effects; and the piano, armoire, and other musical instruments and equipment referred to above. The husband was also ordered to pay the wife’s attorney fees, to provide hospitalization insurance coverage for the wife, and to pay the wife $1,000 a month in rehabilitative alimony for a period of three years.

With regard to the rehabilitative alimony and insurance, the divorce judgment stated:

[1160]*1160“4. The Court finds from the testimony presented that the ... [w]ife does not presently work, however, she has worked in the past and she is eligible for Social Security retirement income which she does not yet collect, but which will provide her in excess of $1,000 per month at age 65. She is currently 63 years of age. Therefore, the ... husband shall pay to the ... wife rehabilitative alimony at the rate of $1,000 per month for a period of three (3) years from the date of this judgment. The ... husband shall also be responsible [for providing] hospitalization insurance coverage for the ... wife comparable to that which she ... now has under his group health insurance plan.”

The divorce judgment also noted that “[t]he parties have no retirement funds, pension accounts, or investment accounts for division by the Court.”

The wife filed a motion to alter, amend, or vacate the judgment, or, in the alternative, for a new trial, alleging that the trial court had erred in failing to award her more alimony and in failing to award her a portion of the equity in the marital home. Her motion alleged, in part:

“2. The [husband] testified at the trial ... that at age 65, the [wife] would be eligible to draw over $1000 per month [in] [S]ocial [S]ecurity [retirement benefits]. Attached hereto is a certified copy of the [wife’s earnings history from the] Social Security Administration showing that at age 65+4 months, [the wife] will only be able to draw $679.00 per month.
[[Image here]]
“4. The husband and the wife acquired the marital residence during their marriage and amassed 100% of the equity therein during the marriage. None of the equity was amassed prior to the marriage. Under the [divorce judgment,] ... the husband gets approximately $200,000 in equity and the wife gets nothing. This is grossly unfair. The Court makes no arrangements for the wife, who is in her 60s and in bad health, to have any place to live whatsoever.”

Thereafter, the trial court entered, on the case action summary sheet, an amendment to the judgment:

“[The wife’s] Motion to Alter, Amend, or Vacate is granted. Paragraph 4 of the Order of 6-19-02 is amended to read ‘Therefore, the [husband] shall pay to the [wife] rehabilitative alimony at a rate of $1000 per month for a period of (five) 5 yrs from the date of this Judgment.’ All other provisions are to remain the same.”

The wife appeals.

The parties married in October 1991. In November 2000, the husband told the wife he did not love her anymore, and the parties subsequently separated in February 2001. The marriage was the third for the husband4 and the second for the wife. (The husband’s first wife died and his second marriage ended in a divorce; the wife’s first marriage ended in a divorce.) The husband has two or three adult children from his first marriage and two teenage sons from his second marriage. The wife has two adult sons from her previous marriage. At the time of the trial in July 2002, the husband was 58 years old and the wife was 63 years old.

During the pendency of the divorce proceedings, the wife resided in the marital [1161]*1161home, along with two of her grandchildren (a granddaughter and a grandson) that she had assumed physical custody of sometime during 1999. (The wife was awarded physical custody of those grandchildren in 2000.) The husband resided in the motor home, which he parked at a local trailer park. The husband paid all of the marital debts, except the electric utility bill for the marital home, which the wife paid. Additionally, the husband continued to pay the wife a “salary” of $500 every two weeks through Benson’s, his family-owned business. (The wife’s “salary” at Benson’s during the parties’ marriage is discussed in more detail below.)

The parties offered conflicting evidence regarding the cause of the breakdown of the marriage. The husband testified that the wife had been mean to. his children from one of his previous marriages. The wife denied that allegation. The husband also testified that the wife had failed to pay the household bills in a timely manner at a time when his maintaining a good credit rating was crucial for the continued operation of Benson’s. The wife admitted that she had paid some bills late in early 2000 because of the stress of having her grandchildren living with them. The husband testified that difficulties involving the grandchildren had contributed to the breakdown of the marriage as well.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Marshall v. Marshall
168 So. 3d 52 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2014)
Santiago v. Santiago
122 So. 3d 1270 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
Tiffany Sasser Meek v. William Patrick Meek.
83 So. 3d 541 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
876 So. 2d 1157, 2003 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 771, 2003 WL 22365146, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benson-v-benson-alacivapp-2003.