Tamara T. Oakey v. Daniel G. Oakey

Roanoke, Virginia divorce lawyers represented husband and wife as spousal support dispute.

Husband and wife divorced in 2013 after 13 years of marriage. Both husband and wife have children from earlier marriages, but no children were born of this marriage. At the time of their divorce, the circuit court determined that husband's gross adjusted annual income was approximately $229,000 and awarded wife $8,500 in monthly spousal support "for an indefinite period." In reaching the original spousal support award, the circuit court discussed the Code § 20-107.1(E) factors and found that during the marriage, the parties had an upper middle-class lifestyle. The circuit court determined that husband was in good health, outside the "emotional stress of his divorce and elevated cholesterol," while wife had "been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, hypothyroidism, anxiety, and depression." Wife was also a full-time caregiver for her adult son, who had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and the circuit court found that her son's needs created a "significant obstacle" to wife's ability to work outside the home. After considering wife's health concerns and her role as her son's full-time caretaker, the circuit court found that wife's earning capacity was "greatly diminished." The circuit court noted that wife's father also lived with her and concluded that wife had no additional financial resources other than $600 her father paid her each month for food and utilities. Husband claimed that wife's father paid her $1,400 monthly. Nevertheless, the circuit court kept "open the possibility of recalibrating the support award from time to time as conditions changed" and reserved each party's right to seek modification or termination of the award in light of future material changes.



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Oakey v. Oakey, 0910-23-3 (Va. App. Sep 17, 2024)

Affirmed