Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary
Divorce: Indefinite alimony: Unconscionable disparity
Daniel Aryeh Salmon v. Shannon Kellner-Keefe Salmon
CSA No. 1210, Sept. Term 2013. Unreported.
Opinion by Graeff, J. Filed Nov. 3, 2014.
Appeal from Harford County. Affirmed.
RecordFax #14-1103-08, 24 pages.
In awarding indefinite alimony, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding an unconscionable disparity in the couple’s standards of living where the wife’s income, if she reached her goal of receiving a teaching degree, would be less than a third of the husband’s; nor did the list of statutory factors preclude the court from considering the effect that the couple’s six children would have on the wife’s expenses.
This appeal arises from divorce proceedings in the Circuit Court for Harford County between Shannon Kellner-Keefe Salmon, appellee, and Daniel Salmon, appellant. The parties separated in 2010 after 16 years of marriage and the birth of six children. Following a three-day trial, the court granted the parties a Judgment of Absolute Divorce, awarded Ms. Salmon indefinite alimony in the amount of $1,200 per month, and ordered Mr. Salmon to pay Ms. Salmon’s attorney’s fees.
On appeal, Mr. Salmon raises six questions for our review, which we have consolidated and rephrased as follows:
1. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in awarding $1,200 per month in indefinite alimony to Ms. Salmon?
2. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in awarding Ms. Salmon attorney’s fees?
