Shirley Daniel vs. James Daniel

This is an alimony case. At the time of the divorce, the parties had been married for almost thirty-one years. The husband was fifty-one years old, and the wife was forty-five years old. The husband owned his own backhoe/trackhoe company. The wife was a homemaker and raised the parties' three children. She has a sixth-grade education and earned her GED in 1997. Since the parties' separation, the wife had held five jobs but had not been able to maintain her employment. The parties agreed on the division of personal and real property, but disagreed over the value of the husband's business property. The trial court found that the husband made it difficult to ascertain the parties' financial situation. The trial court also found that the wife was economically disadvantaged and could not be rehabilitated. The wife was awarded alimony in futuro and attorney's fees. On appeal, the husband argues that the trial court erred in awarding the wife alimony in futuro and attorney's fees. We affirm, finding that the trial court did not err in concluding that the wife cannot be rehabilitated and in awarding alimony in futuro and attorney's fees.