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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 7-915 / 07-0822 Filed December 12, 2007

IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF BRENDA KAY OLIVER AND PHILIP LYNN OLIVER Upon the Petition of BERNDA KAY OLIVER, Petitioner-Appellee, And Concerning PHILIP LYNN OLIVER, Respondent-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jefferson County, Daniel P. Wilson, Judge.

Philip Lynn Oliver appeals from the district court's refusal to grant him alimony. AFFIRMED.

Michael Carpenter of Webber, Gaumer & Emanuel, P.C., Ottumwa, for appellant. Paul Miller of Miller Law Office, Fairfield, for appellee.

Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Mahan and Zimmer, JJ.

2 ZIMMER, J. Philip Lynn Oliver appeals from the district court's refusal to grant him alimony in the parties' dissolution decree. We affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. Philip and Brenda Oliver were married in 1982. The parties have two adult children. Brenda left the family home and filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in September 2006. Philip filed a pro se answer to the petition. Trial on the petition was held during March 2007. 1 At the time of trial, Brenda was forty years old. She had been working on and off as a registered nurse since 2003. In 2006 her gross annual income was $40,872. Philip was forty-four years old at the time of trial. In 1995 he suffered an injury to his back and became disabled. At the time of trial, his gross annual income was $13,116, consisting of $975 per month from social security disability, plus an additional $118 per month from IPERS. Following trial, the court entered an order equally dividing the property and debt of the marriage between the two parties. Philip was awarded the parties' family home, which consists of a double wide mobile home on a lot they own in Libertyville. The court did not award either party spousal support. Philip

appeals. He contends he should have been awarded alimony. II. Scope and Standards of Review. We review dissolution cases de novo. Iowa R. App. P. 6.4; In re Marriage of Fennelly, 737 N.W.2d 97, 100 (Iowa 2007). Although not bound by the district court's factual findings, we give them weight, especially when assessing the
1

During trial, Brenda was represented by counsel, and Philip represented himself.

3 credibility of witnesses. Iowa R. App. P. 6.14(6)(g); In re Marriage of Sullins, 715 N.W.2d 242, 247 (Iowa 2006). III. Merits. A. Spousal Support. An award of spousal support is used as a means of compensating the party who leaves the marriage at a financial disadvantage, particularly where there is a large disparity in earnings. In re Marriage of Clinton, 579 N.W.2d 835, 839 (Iowa Ct. App. 1998). It is a discretionary award, dependent upon factors such as the length of the marriage, the age and health of the parties, their earning capacities, the ability of the spouse seeking support to become selfsufficient, and the relative need for support. Iowa Code

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