MAINTENANCE

Employability thwarts maintenance (aka "alimony")

         Traditionally, in past decades, most women did not formerly “work” at a job, but rather stayed at home as homemakers, taking care of the home and the children. Although as anyone who has raised children will attest to, it is undoubtedly a lot of work. In the sense of this classic example, when spouses separated or divorced, it was only fair that the man help support his ex-wife, who typically had little to no earning power, especially in the 1920’s-1980’s, when there were simply few opportunities for women in the workforce. Today opportunities for women to support themselves are essentially equal to those for men.

What is commonly referred to as alimony, post-divorce payments from one spouse to another for the receiving spouse’s financial livelihood, in Missouri is called maintenance. Whether or not a court awards one spouse with maintenance depends on many factors but is primarily determined by each spouse’s ability to support themselves. In this blog we review a recent case decided by the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District on appeal from a circuit court in Cape Girardeau County.

Matthew Callow vs. Danielle Callow appeal filed 11/25/25

The following is a case summary of Mathew Callow vs. Danielle Callow, decided by the Missouri Coourt of Appeals, Eastern District, in 2025.  Mother “Danielle” and father “Matt” married in October of 2012, and they then separated in 2021. During the marriage Matt was employed full time, while Danielle worked as a real estate agent and dog groomer until February of 2020 when she ceased working during the Covid 19 pandemic. She did not work again after that time.

Both parents had health problems. Danielle was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Fabry’s Disease, and took several medications prescribed by her physicians.  Matt is a recovering alcoholic but has been sober since 2019.

When the parties were divorced, the marital home was sold and the proceeds were divided equally between the parties. Commonly in Missouri divorces, the equity in the marital home is considered marital property, and therefore each spouse is legally entitled to one-half of the equity. If one spouses wants to keep the house, and the parties can agree on the value of the home, that spouse can buy out the other spouse by paying them their share of the equity, and thereby keep the home for themselves, typically by refinancing the property. In other cases, like herein, the court orders the home sold and after the mortgage is paid off, the remaining proceeds are split between the parties.

         On account of her medical conditions, among other reasons, Danielle requested Matt pay her maintenance. Danielle’s request for maintenance was denied by the trial court and she decided to appeal that decision following the final judgment in the divorce. That appeal is the basis of this blog. She claims the trial court errored, and in doing so violated Missouri State Statute 452.335, in refusing to award her maintenance because she lacked adequate property to provide for her needs, could not work on account of her medical conditions, and because Matt had the ability to pay maintenance.

The Law

Missouri State Statute 452.335 describes when the court may grant maintenance in a divorce or legal separation. The law states, a court may grant maintenance to either spouse, but only if it determines the spouse requesting maintenance:

(1.)        Lacks adequate property, including the property received from the divorce, to provide for their reasonable needs. If there are substantial assets in a divorce, then those assets may be used to generate income or be sold in order to provide support for one or both spouses;

(2.)        They cannot support themselves via employment or are the caregiver of a child whose condition makes it appropriate that the caregiver not be required to find employment outside of the home. In a situation where one spouse is physically or mentally unable to work due to a permanent condition, or in the case of a special needs child requiring substantial care, maintenance may be appropriate.

To determine the duration and amount of maintenance paid to one spouse by the other, the Court should consider all relevant factors including:

(1.)        The financial assets of the spouse requesting maintenance, including marital property acquired in the divorce, the ability of the spouse to meet

their needs financially, including if a provision in the child support order

includes a sum for that spouse as custodian of the child;

(2.)        The duration of time required for the spouse to acquire adequate education or training to allow the party to find appropriate employment. In some divorces, the Court will award maintenance for several years while oblige spouses attends college or acquires job skills;

(3.)        The difference in earning capacity between the spouses. Obviously if one spouse is a very high earner and the other spouse has little income potential, maintenance may be appropriate;

(4.)        The accustomed standard of living in the marriage. Think of situations like movie stars and professional athletes. Courts will order maintenance so that both spouses can, if possible, live a similar standard of living as when they were married;

(5.)        The liabilities and assets of each party, including assets and liabilities from the divorce;

(6.)        The length of the marriage. The longer the marriage, the greater the likelihood maintenance will come into play. Marriages shorter than 5 years typically have no maintenance or very short term maintenance, while decades long marriages may see permanent maintenance awards;

(7.)        The age, physical and emotional health of the spouse requesting maintenance. Older or disabled spouses are more likely to be awarded maintenance than younger spouses who are physically and mentally able to support themselves through appropriate employment;

(8.)        The financial ability of the non-requesting spouse to meet his needs. A Court generally will not order a spouse to pay maintenance unless they can afford to do so;

(9.)        The conduct of the parties during marriage. Abuse and infidelity can be taken into consideration when maintenance is ordered;

In the case at hand, Danielle claims the trial court failed to take into adequate consideration her testimony regarding the severity of her medical issues.  However, as the appellate court correctly points out, Danielle’s own testimony at trial supports the trial court’s decision that her medical conditions did not hinder her ability to support herself as much as she alleged. She testified she recently brokered a real estate sale, fixed appliances at her home, built and installed a shelf at her home, and spent hours preparing for her deposition on her computer. Although Danielle was unemployed at the time of the divorce, the Court was quick to point out that it is established law in Missouri that “unemployment alone is not enough to require an award of maintenance.”

 As discussed above, Missouri law spells out specific criteria illustrating the circumstances under which Courts should award maintenance, payable from one spouse to another. Typically, maintenance is paid for a set period of time, until the receiving spouse can acquire the skills needed to find appropriate employment to support themselves. In rare cases, such as when age, physical or mental conditions preclude one spouse from the ability to support themselves, and the other spouse has the financial means, maintenance may continue until the death of either spouse.

In the Callow case discussed above, the Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court’s decision not to award maintenance to Danielle. In Missouri, appellate courts (appeals courts and the supreme court) will not change a trial court’s ruling unless that ruling is not supported by substantial evidence, the ruling is against the weight of the evidence, or the ruling wrongly declares or applies the law. The Appeals Court agreed with the trial court that Danielle testified she was able to work in her profession as a real estate agent, and her medical conditions did not appear to significantly hinder her ability to complete everyday tasks. In the end, the Court agreed that Danielle was employable, therefore she could support herself, and her employability thwarted an award of maintenance.

From the case and commentary above, one can get a general sense of when maintenance is likely to awarded, and when it is not. If you are a man facing divorce, contact attorney Robert Davis at the Men’s Center for Domestic Resolution in Pleasant Hill, Missouri at 816 287-1530. The goal of our firm is to help men through the challenges processes of divorces, child custody and other family law matters.

Attorney Robert Davis at The Men’s Center for Domestic Resolution is Kansas City’s Men’s Right Lawyer!