## Facts

- A circuit court divorce decree (2012) ordered Harold R. Dace to pay Debra Doss lifetime alimony of $619 per month based on their respective incomes.
- Debra Doss remarried on November 7, 2015.
- After the remarriage, Dace stopped paying alimony without obtaining a court order modifying or terminating the decree.
- Doss filed a motion for contempt in April 2016 based on nonpayment; Dace filed a motion to terminate alimony, asserting remarriage and lack of continuing need.
- Following a hearing, the circuit court found Doss could earn at least minimum wage and imputed monthly income of $1,075.
- The circuit court found Doss had reasonable monthly expenses of $1,309 and, accounting for her new husband’s contributions to housing and some expenses, a remaining monthly need of $234.
- The circuit court reduced alimony to $234 per month effective May 31, 2016 (the filing date of Dace’s termination motion), ordered $5,269 in arrears, and continued the obligation at the reduced amount.
- Dace appealed from the refusal to terminate alimony, the calculation of expenses, and the continued enforcement of a lifetime alimony award after statutory amendments.

## Issues

1. Whether the recipient’s remarriage required termination of alimony rather than a modification.
2. Whether the circuit court reversibly erred by requesting or considering information outside the record when determining the recipient’s monthly expenses.
3. Whether statutory amendments enacted in 2013 invalidated or materially limited lifetime (“permanent”) alimony awards.

## Decision

- The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court’s order in all respects.
- The court held that remarriage did not automatically terminate alimony and that the circuit court acted within its discretion in reducing, rather than ending, the award based on the recipient’s post-remarriage need.
- The court found no reversible error in the circuit court’s expense determination; the findings were sufficiently supported by record evidence and credibility determinations within the trial court’s province.
- The court rejected the argument that the 2013 statutory amendments invalidated lifetime alimony awards; such awards remained enforceable and subject to modification upon proof of changed circumstances.

## Legal Principles

- Alimony determinations and modifications are reviewed de novo on appeal, but the amount and continuation of alimony are committed to the circuit court’s discretion and reversed only for abuse of discretion.
- The purpose of alimony is to address economic imbalance in earning capacity and standard of living under the circumstances of the parties.
- A recipient’s remarriage is a relevant changed circumstance but is not, by itself, an automatic termination of alimony; the court may modify or terminate depending on continuing need and other facts.
- Trial courts may impute income based on earning capacity and determine “reasonable” expenses from the evidence presented, with deference to credibility findings.
- Statutory amendments to Arkansas alimony law did not abolish lifetime alimony; existing lifetime awards remain valid and may be modified when a material change in circumstances is shown.

## Conclusion

The court upheld a reduced, ongoing alimony award and arrears after the recipient’s remarriage, holding that remarriage is a factor in modification—not automatic termination—and that lifetime alimony awards remain lawful and enforceable absent a discretionary abuse by the circuit court.


Dace v. Doss, 530 S.W.3d 893 (Ark. Ct. App. 2017)