Boemio v. Boemio

994 A.2d 911 (2010)

Facts

H and Seixas (W) were married on October 12, 1985. The couple had two children within the first five years of the marriage. H earned a Master's of Business Administration in finance from George Washington University. H had already earned a master's degree in economics prior to the marriage. H obtained a position at the Federal Reserve Board. He remains in the Board's employ to this day, leaving only to take a two-year assignment with a Swiss bank. W had completed high school and one year of college instruction. W worked as a retail manager for CVS. That job, however, required 45 to 55-hour work weeks and was, according to Seixas, 'very stressful' and 'physically strenuous. W took a less demanding administrative assistant position, along with a $10,000 pay cut. H and W incurred little consumer debt and managed to pay off the mortgage on their Silver Spring home. H moved out of the marital home in January 2006 and filed for divorce. W claimed that she was not self-supporting and needed alimony to maintain herself. The court considered all the statutory alimony factors and looked to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) guidelines for assistance. The court found that W would not be able to maintain her accustomed lifestyle without alimony and that an unconscionable disparity existed and would continue to exist between the two parties. It awarded W $3,000 per month in indefinite alimony. H appealed.