In re the Marriage of Echanis

In this dissolution case husband seeks to terminate his spousal support obligation. The trial court found that his monthly payments of $900 to wife were part of the property division and are therefore not subject to modification. We hold that the payments are spousal support and modify the decree to reduce those payments to $350 per month.

Husband is 65 and wife is 55 years old. Their 22-year marriage ended in 1975. At that time, husband was a partner with a one-half interest in a beer and wine distributorship known as the Umatilla Distributing Company. By the time of the hearing in this…