Nature of the Case
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Facts
Elizabeth (W) and James (H) met in 1985 while they were both pursuing bachelor's degrees at the State University of New York in Buffalo. The couple was engaged eight years later and married on June 5, 1993. The couple began to experience marital differences in October 2007, and on March 10, 2008, W filed a complaint for divorce. W had obtained a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in computer science. W worked as a computer programmer on the foreign exchange sales desk at Goldman Sachs. W worked in a similar position at Banker's Trust through 1999. H obtained an accounting degree and then earned his Certified Public Accountant license. In June 2003, he obtained a job at Deutsche Bank, where he is currently employed as Chief Financial Officer of the bank's Finance Division in America. In 1999, the parties decided it would be best if W stopped working in order to remain at home to care for the children full-time. They have three children. W is the primary caretaker of the children. After 1999, H was the sole wage earner. H's total compensation was $751,000 in 2005, $1,001,000 in 2006, $1,075,000 in 2007, and $1,800,000 in 2008. In 2006, W faced serious health issues and underwent brain surgery. She has since been able to resume a normal life with only some minor facial paralysis. Lifestyle expert Rufino Fernandez, Esq., testified that W would need $18,578 per month to maintain the marital lifestyle. Both employment experts concluded that W would be most successful in pursuing a career in the computer field. H's expert opined that W could obtain an entry-level position earning between $58,000 and $69,000 and her salary would rapidly increase to the national average of other computer programmers, making on average $80,000 to $94,000 annually, up to a maximum of $120,000. W's expert concluded that W would need at least one to two years of retraining before being able to obtain any job in the computer field and after retraining, W would be able to obtain a job making between $50,623 and $56,765. W sought employment as a math teacher following the divorce and began to take online courses to obtain her teaching license in New Jersey. W stated that the teaching position would allow her to have a similar schedule to her children so she could continue to care for them. The court then addressed each of the thirteen factors set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(b). It held that the case was not a permanent alimony case, but rather one requiring limited duration alimony. The court ultimately ordered limited duration alimony in the amount of $18,000 per month from October 2010 through September 2021, the year the youngest child will reach the age of majority. The Appellate Division reversed the trial court's award of limited duration alimony and remanded the case for an award of permanent alimony. H filed a petition for certification, challenging only the issue of alimony.
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