Riley v. Riley

138 P.3d 84 (2006)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H and W were married in February 1992. H had served in the Army for more than fifteen years, was stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. w, who lived approximately 680 miles south of Fairbanks in Sitka, Alaska, was working full time for the State of Alaska. After the couple married, W was unable to find employment in Fairbanks, so H left the Army and relocated to Sitka. H received $15,000 in severance pay. Had H stayed with the Army for another four years and four months, he would have received approximately $1000 per month in retirement benefits for the rest of his life. H had difficulty finding work, so the parties agreed that he would stay home to care for his son and W's two children while W continued to work. In 1994, the family moved Utah and W obtained a master's degree. At the time of trial, W was working as a program manager with the Department of Human Services. H pursued a career as a commercial pilot. He attended school from September 1994 to August 1997 and received a bachelor's degree in aviation management. H initially worked full time as a flight instructor. He later obtained a job as a pilot for Continental Express Jet Airlines (Express). H was a captain with Express. In 1999, H had an extramarital affair, resulting in the birth of a son. W learned of the affair, and the child and W agreed that as a condition of the parties remaining together, H would not have contact with his newly born son or the son's mother. In spring 2003, H decided to leave the marriage. Husband moved to Houston, Texas, agreeing to pay W $900 each month until they sold their house in Utah. The couple sold their house on December 1, 2004. The trial court concluded that H had the ability to provide support to W. The court found that W's monthly expenses were $4491, $ 338 more than her income of $4153 per month. The court found Wife was in need of support. The court also found that W contributed almost $300,000 more the marriage than H. W had also liquidated several premarital assets to contribute to family expenses. The court also found that H was less than honest in his testimony. The court noted that: (1) during the course of the marriage, H committed adultery and fathered an out-of-wedlock child; (2) H hid this from Wife for nearly two years, during which time he paid child support; (3) Wife found out about H's affair and his new son when she opened a letter from the State of Texas that was addressed to H; (4) these circumstances constituted grounds for extreme mental anguish and distress for W; and (5) H may have fathered an additional child outside his marriage to W, and he was evasive and deceitful about the existence of such a child. The trial court concluded that the divorce would not have taken place but for H's acts of adultery. The trial court ordered H to pay alimony in the amount of $ 900 per month, not to exceed the duration of the marriage--approximately 156 months. H appealed. H claims the trial court abused its discretion in awarding W $900 per month in alimony.