Oregon Court of Appeals Rules on Spousal Support and VA Payments

Husband and Wife were married for 35 years. Wife was a stay-at-home mom to the parties’ five children and did not work outside of the home during the marriage. Husband retired from the Army with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which became worse over a period of 11 years until Husband was determined to be 100% disabled. Wife filed for divorce and requested spousal support. The trial court determined that only Husband’s non-disability income should be used to calculate spousal support. Wife appealed. The Court of Appeals found that the trial court had erred in failing to consider Husband’s VA benefits. Oregon law defines income for purposes of support payments to include “any program or contract to provide substitute wages during times of unemployment or disability." ORS 25.010(7)(f). The Court modified the trial court’s award to award Wife indefinite spousal support of $1,400 per month.


Read Morales v. Morales.