Patterson v. Patterson

ROBERTSON, Presiding Judge.

The parties were divorced in July 1990. The husband was ordered to pay certain debts, $250 per month as child support, and $364.40 a month as “alimony in gross” from his retirement benefits.

The husband appeals, contending, among other things, that the trial court erred in its award to the wife of alimony in gross out of his retirement benefits. We agree.

It is well-settled law in Alabama that a husband’s military retirement benefits can be applied only to the payment of periodic alimony and that such benefits cannot be made the basis of a property division or of an…