Virginia's Court of Appeals approved a trial court's decision to reduce, but not end, alimony received by a woman whose income had increased by 220%, citing expenses of her adult children, their college costs, her student loans, and their pre-separation lifestyle.
A woman was receiving $1,900 monthly spousal support from her ex-husband and had recently increased her annual income from $36,000 to $80,000. The trial court examined this change in circumstances and ordered a reduction of monthly spousal support amount to $1,500.
One factor the Court found significant was the parties' expenses for their adult children. They have two children who are in college and live at home with the wife. The wife is also paying off student loans acquired in nursing school. At the same time the wife's annual income grew, the husband's decreased. However, the trial court found that the mother should still receive enough spousal support to maintain the lifestyle, for her and the adult children, that they enjoyed during the marriage.
The husband appealed the trial court's decision and contended that it misused its discretion by merely reducing his monthly spousal support payments. Instead, he argued that the wife's rise in income warranted a full termination of spousal support payments.
The Court of Appeals found that the trial court had not abused its discretion by considering the factors described above, and reducing but not terminating his support payments, nor by choosing not to consider his argument that he had now been making the payments for longer than the marriage had lasted.
Cook v. Cook (unpublished, 5/12/15) VLW 5-18-15, p 16