Cathy Cooke v. Randy Cooke ( 2003 )


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  •                  IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
    AT NASHVILLE
    September 6, 2002 Session
    CATHY MOLONNIA COOKE v. RANDY PHON COOKE
    Appeal from the Chancery Court for White County
    No. 9228 Vernon Neal, Chancellor
    No. M2001-03026-COA-R3-CV - Filed June 17, 2003
    Wife sought divorce from Husband on the grounds of irreconcilable differences and inappropriate
    marital conduct. Husband sought divorce from Wife on identical grounds. After declaring the
    parties divorced, the trial court awarded Wife 42% of the marital estate and awarded Husband 58%
    of the marital estate. The trial court also awarded alimony in solido to Wife in the amount of
    $30,000. Husband appeals both the valuation of the marital estate and the award of alimony to Wife.
    Because we find that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s valuation of the
    marital estate, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding alimony to Wife, we affirm
    the decision of the trial court.
    Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court
    Affirmed and Remanded
    PATRICIA J. COTTRELL, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which BEN H. CANTRELL , P.J., M.S.,
    and THOMAS W. GRAHAM, SP . J. joined.
    J. Hilton Conger, Smithville, Tennessee, for the appellant Randy Phon Cooke.
    Thomas F. Bloom, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee Cathy Molonnia Cooke.
    OPINION
    Cathy Molonnia Cooke (“Wife”) and Randy Phon Cooke (“Husband”) met in October of
    1991. They were married on February 15, 1992. At that time, Husband owned his own business,
    Upper Cumberland Veterinary Clinic, where he worked as a veterinarian. He has owned that
    business since 1977. Wife worked at a factory named Townsend Textron, earning approximately
    $8-$9 an hour. Wife had a daughter from a previous marriage who was 9 years old when the parties
    married. There were no children born to the marriage.
    In addition to his veterinary practice, Husband also dealt in cattle before and throughout the
    marriage. He also owned a 34 acre farm prior to the marriage. The marital residence was
    constructed on this farm.
    A little over a year after the parties married, Wife quit her job at Textron and began working
    at Husband’s veterinary clinic. At the time of the divorce, she was working as a receptionist at a
    radio station.
    The marriage was a stormy one; the parties separated a number of times, and Wife filed for
    divorce four times. They separated for the final time in May of 1999, and Wife filed for divorce
    shortly thereafter. Wife sought and was granted temporary alimony in the amount of $350 per
    month. At that time, she estimated her monthly expenses as $1,728.33 and her monthly income as
    approximately $968 per month. Husband answered the divorce complaint, and also filed his own
    counter-complaint for divorce.
    The trial court declared the parties divorced pursuant to 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-129
     on
    September 24, 2001, reserving the issue of the division of marital assets. After two hearings,1 the
    trial court entered a final decree awarding 42% of the marital estate to Wife and 58% of the marital
    estate to Husband. The trial court also awarded alimony in solido in the amount of $30,000 to Wife.
    Husband appeals both the distribution of property and the award of alimony.
    I. Property Distribution
    Husband states he does not take issue with the trial court’s determination that a division of
    the marital estate of 42% to Wife and 58% to Husband was equitable. He objects to the inclusion
    in the marital estate of various items, or their value, essentially arguing that the estate subject to the
    42%/58% division should be smaller than that calculated by the court.
    The trial court valued the marital estate at $405,4542 and determined that an equitable
    distribution was 42% to Wife and 58% to Husband. The trial court awarded Wife the following
    specific items:
    Cash taken from the safe by Wife                                        $84,000
    1991 Chevrolet Corsica automobile                                       $1,500
    Mutual funds in the name of Kathy Cooke                                 $10,359
    IRA’s in the name of Kathy Cooke                                        $6,459
    Stock in the name of Kathy Cooke                                        $13,831
    Diamond ring                                                            $11,000
    1
    There was insufficient evid ence at the first hearing as to the parties’ assets and their value, especially the house.
    2
    This amount did not include furniture, jewelry and similar items awarded by the court in another provision of
    the order, whether that p roperty was considered separate or marital. The parties have raised no issue about those items.
    -2-
    Cash left with the Pattons                                        $6,000
    Certificate of Deposit                                            $9,000
    Balance of checking account                                       $300
    TOTAL:                                                            $142,449
    The trial court awarded the following to Husband:
    All interest in real property3                                    $76,000
    Mutual fund accounts in joint names                               $24,289
    IRAs in name of R.P. Cooke                                        $15,455
    Stock accounts in name of R.P. Cooke                              $37,151
    Notes receivable from Bruce Null                                  $74,980
    Balance of business checking account                              $11,386
    1991 Chevrolet pickup truck                                       $1,700
    1949 Farmall tractor                                              $1,500
    Savings bonds                                                     $3,000
    Cattle and proceeds from cattle sold                              $16,544
    TOTAL:                                                            $262,005.
    In order to make the award conform to its formula for an equitable division, the trial court
    then awarded Wife a $27,742 cash payment from Husband. Thus, Wife’s award was increased to
    $170,191, which is 42% of the total value of the items awarded.
    Husband asserts that the trial court incorrectly included the appreciation of the marital
    residence as part of the marital estate. Alternatively, he contends that the only appreciation in the
    marital residence is the difference in its value upon completion and its value as of the date of the
    divorce. Husband also argues that the house, at least its value at completion, is his separate property
    because: (1) he had plans to construct the house prior to the marriage; (2) construction in fact began
    prior to the marriage; and (3) he paid for the house.
    Prior to the marriage, Husband had started construction of a house located on a thirty-four
    (34) acre farm which he had owned since 1979. The parties do not dispute that the farm or the land
    upon which the house was built was and is Husband’s separate property. The trial court apparently
    determined that the house itself, an improvement to Husband’s land, was also Husband’s separate
    property. Wife does not directly challenge this finding. The trial court determined that the increase
    in the value of the house during the marriage was marital property subject to division.
    3
    The trial court found the increase in value during the marriage, or appreciation, of the marital residence to be
    marital prop erty and established a value of $76 ,000 for that increase.
    -3-
    Husband had plans made for the house before he was engaged to Wife. The construction
    began after he became engaged to Wife, but prior to the marriage. It actually began in late December
    1991 or early January 1992. When the parties married on February 15, 1992, construction was in
    the very early stages, and some materials were on site. Husband testified that prior to the marriage
    he spent $15,663 toward the construction of the house, and that after the marriage he spent $58,760
    to complete the house. The marital residence was completed in September of 1993, and the parties
    moved into the house at that time. The value of the house, separate from the land, in August of 2001
    was estimated at trial to be approximately $91,000.
    Construction of the marital residence was paid for using funds from Husband’s business
    checking account. However, this was the only checking account the parties used during the
    marriage, and their living expenses were paid from this account. Although it was not technically a
    joint account, Wife had signature authority. Husband testified that none of Wife’s earnings, rental
    income, or proceeds from asset sales was ever deposited to the business checking account. Wife
    testified that she turned some of her earnings and other income over to Husband who did what he
    wanted with it. She also testified that portions of the proceeds of two assets she owned before
    marriage, a truck and a mobile home, were given to Husband. There was evidence that some of the
    proceeds of the truck were placed in a savings account in the names of Wife and her daughter and
    that Wife had left some of the proceeds of the trailer with friends because she needed readily
    available cash if she were forced to leave the marital home, which had happened in the past. Wife
    essentially testified that Husband controlled all the finances of the parties and she was left unaware
    of any financial transactions, including investments Husband made in her name.
    One other aspect of the parties’ finances requires mention. Husband often made transactions
    using cash. He testified to some purchases, such as an expensive diamond ring, that he made using
    cash. There were large sums of money kept around the house. In fact, $75,000 in cash disappeared
    from a safe in the house in the fall of 1998. Husband insists Wife took the money; Wife denies
    taking it.4 By May of 1999, another $84,000 in cash had accumulated and was kept in the safe.
    When Wife left the marital home for the final time, she took the safe and its contents. The trial court
    included that $84,000 in the assets awarded to Wife.
    Wife quit her job at Textron in May of 1993. Prior to that she had been working part time
    at the veterinary clinic, and after leaving her job at Textron she began working more or less full time
    at the clinic. She was not paid a regular salary for her work at the clinic. Around the time Wife
    changed employment, she spent a great deal of time at the house checking on the progress of
    construction and generally overseeing it.
    4
    The trial court initially stated that this missing money would be allocated equally between the parties. The final
    order, however, does not address the money. Since its existence at the time of the divorce was not proved, the trial court
    properly excluded it in the division of marital property.
    -4-
    The trial court found that the marital residence appreciated $76,000 during the marriage and
    that the appreciation of $76,000 was marital property, awarding that property to Husband.
    If no other way, the Court arrived at that by taking replacement costs of the house
    less the depreciation, less what he spent on it before they got married. That is as
    close as the Court knows how to come up with the amount of appreciation. It may
    have well been that the other land appreciated, but that is not before the court. This
    appreciation was a result of her efforts. There is nothing in the record that she wasn’t
    a housekeeper, that she didn’t do the wifely duties, like cook and keep house and all
    of those other things. As you know, those things count just as much as working out.
    Those are things that have to be considered . . . .
    Tennessee, being a “dual property” state, recognizes two distinct classes of property: “marital
    property” and “separate property.” Batson v. Batson, 
    769 S.W.2d 849
    , 856 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1988).
    The distinction is important because, in an action for divorce, only marital property is divided
    between the parties. 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-121
    (a)(1); Brock v. Brock, 
    941 S.W.2d 896
    , 900
    (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996). Separate property is not part of the marital estate subject to division.
    Cutsinger v. Cutsinger, 
    917 S.W.2d 238
    , 241 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1995).
    The general rules for determining whether property is separate or marital are found in statute.
    
    Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-4-121
    (b)(1) & -121(b)(2). Of course, the courts must apply these rules to
    the specific facts of each case. Separate property includes all property owned by a spouse before
    marriage and property acquired in exchange for property acquired before marriage. 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-121
    (b)(2)(A) & (B). In addition, appreciation of property acquired before marriage is
    separate property, unless it is properly classified as marital property pursuant to 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-121
    (b)(1), which provides in relevant part:
    (B) Marital property includes income from, and any increase in value during the
    marriage of, property determined to be separate property in accordance with
    subdivision (b)(2) if each party substantially contributed to its preservation and
    appreciation . . . .
    (C) As used in this subsection “substantial contribution” may include, but not be
    limited to, the direct or indirect contributions of a spouse as a homemaker, wage
    earner, parent, or family financial manager, together with such factors as the court
    having jurisdiction thereof may determine.
    Every increase in value during the marriage does not constitute marital property. It is only
    where the spouse has made substantial contributions toward the preservation or appreciation of the
    property that the statute operates. Harrison v. Harrison, 
    912 S.W.2d 124
    , 127 (Tenn. 1995). Courts
    require some link between the spouse’s marital efforts and the appreciation of the separate property
    before that appreciation is considered marital property. Langschmidt v. Langschmidt, 
    81 S.W.3d 741
    , 746 (Tenn. 2002). Where, for example, the appreciation is due solely to market factors and not
    to efforts of either spouse, the increase in value will not be considered marital property. 
    Id.
    -5-
    However,
    [A]ppreciation in value of the marital residence (titled separately in the name of one
    spouse prior to and during the marriage) is marital property once it is shown that the
    other spouse substantially contributed to the home’s preservation and appreciation
    as a result of efforts made as a homemaker or payment of the mortgage from a joint
    marital checking account, or other such contributions.
    
    Id.
    Similarly, indirect contributions by one party that allow the other party to pay for the property
    or asset constitute a substantial contribution to the preservation and appreciation of the property. See
    Brown v. Brown, 
    913 S.W.2d 163
    , 167 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994).
    The trial court obviously found that Wife made substantial contributions to the preservation
    or appreciation of the house. Because the determination of whether property is jointly or separately
    held depends upon the circumstances, Langford v. Langford, 
    220 Tenn. 600
    , 603, 
    421 S.W.2d 632
    ,
    634 (1967), whether an asset is separate property or marital property is a question of fact. Cutsinger,
    
    917 S.W.2d at 241
    ; Sherrill v. Sherrill, 
    831 S.W.2d 293
    , 295 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992). Thus, a trial
    court’s classification decisions are entitled to great weight on appeal. Wilson v. Moore, 
    929 S.W.2d 367
    , 372 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996). These decisions will be presumed to be correct unless the evidence
    preponderates otherwise. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(d); Langschmidt, 
    81 S.W.3d at 744
    .
    We find that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s finding that the
    appreciation of the home was marital property. The great bulk of the construction was completed
    after the parties married. Although costs were paid out of the business checking account, that was
    essentially a family purposes account also. Wife supervised the construction for at least part of the
    time and maintained the house. Wife contributed to the couple’s financial situation by working at
    the clinic without a regular salary and contributed some of her other income to the marriage. Money
    earned by Husband after the marriage, whether placed in the business account or otherwise, was also
    marital property. Consequently, we affirm the trial court’s classification of the increase in value of
    the home as marital property.
    Husband alternatively argues that, even if the appreciation is considered marital property, the
    amount determined by the court, $76,000 was incorrect. He asserts that the appreciation should only
    reflect the increase in value of the home after its completion or the difference in value between the
    amount that the house appraised for, $91,000, and the amount he spent on the house prior to and
    during the marriage, or $15,663 plus $58,760. Husband thus argues that the house only appreciated
    $16,000, and that the trial court should have only included $16,000 in the marital estate rather than
    the $76,000.
    Although Husband implies that the house was paid for with money he owned prior to the
    marriage, the record is not so specific. Husband testified that he had about $60,000 prior to the
    -6-
    marriage. However, he also testified to various purchases he made shortly after the marriage.
    Husband even testified that he had thought he had enough money to pay for the house, but that, in
    fact, the house ended up costing more than originally planned. The evidence is clear, through
    Husband’s testimony and exhibits, that the house was paid for with money from the business
    checking account. That account would have included money earned by Husband during the fifteen
    months of the marriage that payments were being made toward the construction of the house. Any
    such income would have been marital property. There is simply no direct and specific evidence that
    Husband spent only pre-marital funds, or his separate property, for the construction of the house.
    
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-121
    (b)(1)(B) speaks in terms of increase in value during the
    marriage. Thus, we can find no error in the trial court’s using the value of the house as of the date
    of the marriage as the beginning point for its determination of the increase in value during the
    marriage. The evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s finding that the house
    appreciated $76,000 during the marriage and that the $76,000 should be treated as marital property.
    Consequently, we affirm that portion of the trial court’s decision.
    Although Husband asserts he does not disagree with the formula used by the trial court to
    divide the marital property, such assent is premised on his position regarding the assets to be
    subjected to that formula. Thus, although he does not directly challenge the fairness of the
    distribution, such an objection is fairly interpreted into his position.
    The trial court’s goal in a divorce case is to divide the marital property in an essentially
    equitable manner, and equity in such cases is dependent on the facts of each case. The fairness of
    a particular division of property between two divorcing parties is judged upon its final results.
    Watters v. Watters, 
    959 S.W.2d 585
    , 591 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997). An equitable distribution is not
    necessarily an equal one. Word v. Word, 
    937 S.W.2d 931
    , 933 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996). Thus, a
    division is not rendered inequitable simply because it is not precisely equal, Cohen v. Cohen, 
    937 S.W.2d 823
    , 832 (Tenn. 1996); Kinard v. Kinard, 
    986 S.W.2d 220
    , 230 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998).
    Similarly, equity does not require that each party receive a share of every piece of marital property.
    King v. King, 
    986 S.W.2d 216
    , 219 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998); Brown, 
    913 S.W.2d at 168
    .
    Because dividing a marital estate is a process guided by considering all relevant factors,
    including those listed in 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-121
    (c), in light of the facts of a particular case, a
    trial court has a great deal of discretion concerning the manner in which it divides marital property.
    Smith v. Smith, 
    984 S.W.2d 606
    , 609 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997 ); Wallace v. Wallace, 
    733 S.W.2d 102
    ,
    106 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1987). Appellate courts ordinarily defer to the trial judge’s decision unless it
    is inconsistent with the factors in 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-121
    (c) or is not supported by a
    preponderance of the evidence. Wilson, 
    929 S.W.2d at 372
    ; Brown, 
    913 S.W.2d at 168
    .
    We affirm the trial court’s distribution of the marital estate.
    -7-
    II. Spousal Support
    On appeal, Husband argues that the trial court erred by ordering Husband to pay $30,000
    alimony in solido to Wife because the trial court made no findings of fact with regard to which
    statutory factors, if any, were considered in making the award of alimony. Further, Husband argues,
    Wife is not a candidate for alimony because she is not economically disadvantaged and/or in need
    of rehabilitation. Husband argues that by paying temporary alimony during the pendency of the
    divorce, he essentially paid rehabilitative alimony to Wife. Wife argues that there were multiple
    factors proven at trial which weighed in the trial court’s decision to award the alimony and that the
    trial court did not abuse its discretion.
    Trial courts have broad discretion to determine whether spousal support is needed and, if so,
    its nature, amount and duration. Burlew v. Burlew, 
    40 S.W.3d 465
    , 470 (Tenn. 2001). Appellate
    courts are generally disinclined to second-guess a trial court’s spousal support decision unless it is
    not supported by the evidence or is contrary to public policies reflected in applicable statutes. Bogan
    v. Bogan, 
    60 S.W.3d 721
    , 733 (Tenn. 2001); Kinard, 
    986 S.W.2d at 234
    ; Brown, 
    913 S.W.2d at 169
    .
    Our role is to determine whether the award reflects a proper application of the relevant legal
    principles and that it is not clearly unreasonable. Bogan, 
    60 S.W.3d at 733
    . When the trial court has
    set forth its factual findings in the record, we will presume the correctness of those findings so long
    as the evidence does not preponderate against them. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(d); Bogan, 
    60 S.W.3d at 733
    ; Crabtree v. Crabtree, 
    16 S.W.3d 356
    , 360 (Tenn. 2000). Where there are no findings of fact
    which the appellate court may presume to be correct, it must conduct its own independent review
    of the record to determine where the preponderance of the evidence lies.
    Alimony or spousal support is authorized by statute, 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-5-101
    (a)(1),
    which gives courts discretion to order “suitable support and maintenance of either spouse by the
    other spouse . . . according to the nature of the case and the circumstances of the parties. . . .” There
    are no hard and fast rules for spousal support decisions, and such determinations require a “careful
    balancing” of the relevant factors. Anderton v. Anderton, 
    988 S.W.2d 675
    , 682-83 (Tenn. Ct. App.
    1998). In determining whether to award support and the nature, amount and length of such support,
    the court is to consider all relevant factors, including those enumerated in 
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-5
    -
    101(d)(1).5
    5
    The factors the court must consider in setting the alimony obligation are:
    (A) The relative earning capacity, obligations, needs and financial resources of each party, including
    income from pension, profit sharing or retirement plans and all other so urces;
    (B) The relative education and training of each pa rty, the ability and oppo rtunity of each pa rty to
    secure such education and training, and the necessity of a party to secure further education and training
    to imp rove such p arty’s earning cap acity to a reasonable level;
    (C) The duration of the marriage;
    (continued...)
    -8-
    Initial decisions regarding the entitlement to spousal support, as well as the amount and
    duration of spousal support, hinge on the unique facts of each case, and court must weigh and
    balance all relevant factors. Robertson v. Robertson, 
    76 S.W.3d 337
    , 338 (Tenn. 2002); Watters, 22
    S.W.3d at 821. Among these factors, the two considered to be the most important are the
    disadvantaged spouse’s need and the obligor spouse’s ability to pay. Robertson, 
    76 S.W.3d at 342
    ;
    Bogan, 
    60 S.W.3d at 730
    ; Manis v. Manis, 
    49 S.W.3d 295
    , 304 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001).
    Where relative economic disadvantage exists between the parties, the legislature has
    expressed a preference for rehabilitative alimony over long-term, open-ended alimony in futuro.
    
    Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-5-101
    (d)(1); Robertson, 
    76 S.W.3d at 339-40
    ; Burlew, 
    40 S.W.3d at 470
    ;
    Crabtree, 
    16 S.W.3d at 358
    . The purpose of an award of rehabilitative alimony is to encourage
    divorced spouses to become self-sufficient. Robertson, 
    76 S.W.3d at 339-40
    ; Burlew, 
    40 S.W.3d at 471
    , Crabtree, 
    16 S.W.3d at 360
    . “Rehabilitative alimony may assist the disadvantaged spouse
    in obtaining further education or training. It may also provide temporary income to support the
    disadvantaged spouse during the post-divorce economic adjustment.” Robertson, 
    76 S.W.3d at
    340-
    41.
    In determining whether a disadvantaged spouse can be rehabilitated with short-term support,
    the court is to consider “every relevant factor.” 
    Id.
     
    76 S.W.3d at 340
    . Neither the standard of living
    5
    (...continued)
    (D) The age and m ental co ndition of each party;
    (E) The physical condition of each party, including, but not limited to, physical disability or incap acity
    due to a chronic debilitating disease;
    (F) The extent to which it would be undesirable for a party to seek employment outside the home
    because such party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage;
    (G) The separate assets of each party, both real and personal, tangible and intangible;
    (H) The provisions made with regard to the marital property as defined in § 36-4-121;
    (I) The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;
    (J) The exten t to which each party has made such tangible and intangible contributions to the marriage
    as monetary and home maker contributio ns, and tangible and intangible contribution s by a party to the
    education, training or increa sed earning pow er of the other p arty;
    (K) The relative fault of the parties in cases where the court, in its discretion, deem s it appropriate to
    do so; and
    (L) Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party, as are necessary to consider the
    equities between the parties.
    Tenn. Cod e Ann. § 36-5-101(d)(1 ).
    -9-
    the parties enjoyed during the marriage nor the income or earning potential of the other spouse can
    be used as the sole or determinative factor. Id. 
    16 S.W.3d at 359
    .
    Alimony in solido is an award of a definite sum that may be paid in a lump sum payment or
    in installments over a set period of time. Burlew, 
    40 S.W.3d at 471
    ; Waddey v. Waddey, 
    6 S.W.3d 230
    , 232 (Tenn. 1999); Isbell v. Isbell, 
    816 S.W.2d 735
    , 738 (Tenn. 1991). Alimony in solido is not
    modifiable even upon a showing of changed circumstances, including such events as remarriage or
    the increased fortunes of the recipient spouse. Self v. Self, 
    861 S.W.2d 360
    , 362 (Tenn. 1993);
    Towner v. Towner, 
    858 S.W.2d 888
    , 890 (Tenn. 1993); Grissom v. Grissom, 
    15 S.W.3d 474
    , 477
    (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999). “A typical purpose of such an award would be to adjust the distribution of
    the parties’ marital property.” Burlew, 
    40 S.W.3d at 471
    .
    The legislative policy underlying our support statutes is to eliminate the dependency of one
    ex-spouse upon the other and to relieve the parties of “impediments incident to the dissolved
    marriage.” Self, 
    861 S.W.2d at 361
    . Alimony in solido furthers this policy and promotes the twin
    goals of certainty and finality. 
    Id. at 361
    ; Waddey, 
    6 S.W.3d at 232
    . Where there are sufficient
    assets to make a lump sum award, courts are encouraged to do so.
    In the present case, the trial court stated:
    Based upon need and ability to pay, the Court has during the course of the day given
    a lot of thought about the award of alimony. The plaintiff [Wife] is still relatively
    young. According to her affidavit, she has an income of $1,059.00 a month.
    [Husband] obviously has financial income. I agree that I don’t understand why he
    only has a net income of $2,500 a month if he has a gross of over $10,000.00. I
    would hope that a veterinarian clinic here in White County could make a lot more
    money than that. I have given a lot of though to this. I have concluded that based
    upon the plaintiff’s age and station in life, she needs alimony. The need is here. I
    think in the case of alimony, it would be more appropriate to award alimony in
    solido. The Court awards $30,000.00 in alimony in solido.
    At trial, Wife sought rehabilitative alimony of $500 per month for five years. The trial court
    awarded Wife alimony in solido of $30,000, which is the same total amount as Wife requested, but
    in a lump sum that cannot be modified. The trial court’s finding that “the facts of this case warrant
    an award of alimony in solido . . . .” is supported by the record.
    The proof at trial showed that at the time of the divorce, Wife was employed as a receptionist
    at a radio station, netting $244 per week or $976 per month. Her income and expense statement
    claimed expenses in the amount of $1,350 per month. Leaving a monthly shortage of $374 per
    month. During the marriage, Wife worked at Townsend Textron, earning $8-9 per hour. Wife also
    worked at Husband’s veterinary clinic during evenings and weekends. She did not receive a regular
    salary for this work. Husband claims that he has $2,500 per month in net income, although the trial
    court questioned Husband’s income figures. Husband also testified to having substantial assets and
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    large amounts of cash on hand at various times. There is no evidence that Husband is unable to pay
    the alimony awarded, and he does not dispute his ability to pay on appeal.
    There is a large disparity in the parties’ level of education. Husband, as a veterinarian, has
    a doctorate in veterinary medicine. Wife has a high school diploma. At the time of the trial, Wife
    was 42 years old and Husband was 49 years old. Although Wife has a limited education, she has
    been able to maintain steady employment throughout the marriage and the divorce.
    Based upon all the relevant factors, including the economic factors outlined above and the
    contributions of each party to the marriage, we conclude that the trial court acted within the broad
    discretion given to it. Consequently, we affirm the trial court’s grant of alimony in solido to Wife
    in the amount of $30,000.
    III. Conclusion
    We decline to grant Wife’s request for attorney’s fees in this appeal. For the foregoing
    reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court. Costs of the appeal are taxed to Randy Phon
    Cooke.
    ___________________________________
    PATRICIA J. COTTRELL, JUDGE
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