In re the Marriage of Alber
Cassandra Sue Alber, Petitioner-Appellee/Cross-Appellant
Thomas Alber, Respondent-Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Attorney for Appellant
Patrick H. Payton
Attorney for Appellee
Nicole S. Facio
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Christopher Polking, Judge. AFFIRMED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED ON CROSS-APPEAL AND REMANDED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., Greer, J., and Vogel, S.J. Opinion by Tabor, P.J. (18 pages)
Thomas Alber appeals the decree dissolving his marriage to Cassandra Alber. He contends the property division was inequitable, the spousal support was too low, the child support was too high, and the award of attorney fees fell short. Cassandra cross-appeals arguing the property division was inequitable to her and the spousal support award should be reduced or eliminated. OPINION HOLDS: Persuaded by Cassandra’s argument on spousal support, we modify the decree to reduce the amount of the award for three reasons. First, Thomas will be able to draw additional funds from social security upon his retirement. Second, he did not contribute to Cassandra’s career advancement. And third, in the words of In re Marriage of Mann, Thomas has been “both economically underemployed and domestically underemployed.” See 943 N.W.2d 15, 22 (Iowa 2020). We affirm the other provisions of the decree and remand for recalculation of Thomas’s child support payment.