Husband Seeking To End Spousal Support Was Ordered To Continue Paying For Additional Five Years, Plus Needs-Based $2,500 Toward Wife’s Attorney’s Fee Due To Change In Circumstances After Entry Of Stipulated Judgment – Not Due To Court’s Determination That Their Marriage of Less Than 10 Years Was Long Term.
In Marriage of Weiskittel, Case No. G055204 (4th Dist., Div. 3 February 25, 2019) (unpublished), Husband and Wife ended a 9 year and 10 month marriage – though they had cohabitated for years and had children prior to the marriage – with the court finding the marriage to be long term despite the fact that it had lasted less than 10 years.
In issuing the judgment for dissolution, the court incorporated the parties’ stipulated judgment which defined the marriage as being of 9 years and 10 months, but was silent as to whether it was classified as long term, and provided that spousal support payments to Wife would continue until the death of either party, the remarriage, agreement in writing between the parties, or further order of the court.
Later, Husband sought to end the spousal support payments claiming the marriage had been short term, that he had been paying for more than half the length of the marriage, Wife’s income had increased by $1,600 per month, and Wife was cohabitating with boyfriend who financially contributed to household expenses. Wife argued, however, that Husband’s income had increased by $2,000 per month, that she was no longer receiving child support payments for their oldest child who had turned 18, and that Husband was able to maintain the marital standard of living while she was not.
After weighing all the factors, the court ordered Husband to continue paying spousal support for five more years and to pay Wife a needs-based amount of $2,500 for attorney’s fees. Husband was unhappy and appealed, arguing that the court had abused its discretion in determining the marriage long term, and for awarding Wife $2,500 in attorney’s fees.
The 4/3 DCA upheld the lower court’s ruling. It found the lower court’s ruling to be based on a change in circumstances following entry of the stipulated judgment – not because the lower court had defined the marriage as long term – and was within its right to modify the spousal support and to award Wife $2,500 in attorney’s fees based on her needs and changes in the parties’ circumstances.