Jones v. Jones

542 N.W.2d 119 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H and W were married. H was thirty years old at the time of trial and is an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation. W was twenty-five years old at the time of trial and is Caucasian. The parties have three children, Lyndra, Elias and Desiree. The family resided in a trailer house on the farm of H's parents. H is a minority shareholder in and works for Penrhos Farms. Penrhos is a close family farm corporation, owned primarily by H's father and his three uncles. W was a homemaker for a time and also held various jobs. She is currently enrolled in a nursing program at the Sisseton-Wahpeton Community College. H is a recovering alcoholic who, while drinking, exhibited a behavior of violence towards W and a somewhat casual indifference to the children. He has been sober since December 1992 and regularly attends and presents Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. W suffers from depression and low self-esteem but is seeking counseling at this time. Both parties were granted a divorce based upon mental cruelty. They were also granted joint legal custody of the children with primary physical custody being awarded to H. W got rehabilitative alimony to allow her to finish the nursing program. She was awarded the cost of two years tuition, $10,680.00, with a monthly payment of $445.00, to commence when she returns to school. The issue on appeal was whether the trial court abused its discretion in awarding custody of the children to H; whether the trial court wrongfully considered race when determining the best interests of the children; and whether the trial court abused its discretion with the award of rehabilitative alimony.