In re the Marriage of Christiansen and Spencer
David Arthur Christiansen, Petitioner-Appellee
Constance Joan Spencer, Respondent-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant
P. Shawn McCann
Attorney for Appellee
Krisanne C. Weimer
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Jeffrey L. Larson, Judge. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED. Considered without oral argument by Badding, P.J., Langholz, J., and Vogel, S.J. Opinion by Langholz, J. (13 pages)
Connie Spencer appeals the decree dissolving her eleven-year, later-in-life marriage with David Christiansen. She argues that the property division is inequitable and that the court should have awarded her traditional spousal support mainly because of her Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis during the marriage. OPINION HOLDS: We agree with Spencer in one respect—she should have been credited for the significant improvements made during the marriage to the home awarded to Christiansen. So we modify the decree to increase Christiansen’s equalization payment to Spencer by $24,000 to account for her contributions toward improving that home. But on the remaining issues, we affirm the district court’s decree. We find it equitable for Christiansen to retain the proceeds of selling his business very early in the marriage, the retirement and investment accounts were fairly divided, and Spencer failed to preserve error on any excess funds set aside for income taxes. As for spousal support, Spencer leaves the marriage with significant assets and income and has not shown that this is the exceptional case justifying traditional spousal support so far outside the general twenty-year durational threshold. Finally, we decline Christiansen’s request for appellate attorney fees.
