Monica Goldberg v. Russell Goldberg

This is a divorce case involving alimony and property division. The parties have five children; the oldest is severely handicapped and the three youngest are minors. The husband is a hospital consultant. The wife works part-time as a nurse and owns a small business. In addition to child support, the trial court ordered the husband to pay substantial alimony in futuro, and assume approximately ninety-eight percent of the marital debt. The husband was also ordered to maintain a considerable amount of life insurance to secure his spousal and child support obligations. On appeal, the husband argues that the award of alimony is excessive, that rehabilitative alimony instead of alimony in futuro should have been awarded, that the trial court improperly divided the marital debt, and that the amount of life insurance required was excessive. We affirm in part and reverse in part. We affirm the trial court's holding with regard to the division of marital debt and the amount of life insurance, and modify the award of alimony, awarding rehabilitative alimony in a reduced amount.