Spousal Maintenance

The Minnesota Court of Appeals continues to hold that monthly expenses claimed by a party seeking spousal maintenance must be support by evidence on the record. In Williams v. Williams, an unpublished opinion dated June 30, 2009, the Court of Appeals held that since the expenses referenced by the district court were not support by any evidence, the district court's finding that respondent's expenses were actually $3,000 to $3,500 was clearly erroneous. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded this portion of the order back to district court.

What can we learn from this? In any spousal maintenance case, the spouse seeking spousal maintenance should provide verification of their monthly expenses before the parties agree to a spousal maintenance amount.

Heidi A. Swisher, Esq.
St. Francis, MN