Collins v. Collins5/30/2002
servation of alimony. The trial court, apparently recognizing that, if it declined to award any alimony and failed to reserve on the issue, husband could walk out of the courthouse, obtain a good-paying job and be relieved from alimony entirely, elected to reserve. After discussing Turrisi at some length, Judge Hollander, writing for this Court, concluded that the circuit court was not entitled to reserve as to alimony based on a wait-and-see approach. Given the evidence presented, the question of when, if at all, [husband's] business would prove economically successful fell within the category of "vague future expectation of circumstances," which Turrisi rejected as a ground for reservation. Durkee, 2002 Md. App. LEXIS 73 at *24-25.
Lt. Col. Collins argues that, unlike the situation in Turrisi, there is too much uncertainty in this case and that the court's reservation was an abuse of discretion. Had he had the benefit of Durkee, he would presumably argue that his case is more like Durkee than Turrisi. He also points out that reservation was inappropriate in light of the court's finding that Dr. Collins was self-supporting. We are not persuaded. Lt. Col. Collins applied for disability payments " ithin I think two to three weeks after getting out of - so it would be mid-April, the soonest I could get in and get an appointment with them," and he "absolutely" believes he is entitled to disability pay. The Department of Veteran's Affairs acknowledged his application on May 23, 2000, although it also advised that there was a delay in processing the application.
Accordingly, Lt. Col. Collins's application is currently pending before the appropriate agency, and the trial court apparently believed it had a likelihood of success. The very real possibility that Lt. Col. Collins would be granted some amount of disability pay is not the uncertain, nebulous, or possible occurrence impugned by the Turrisi court and found in Durkee. The application has been filed and the process is underway. Even though the precise outcome is unknown, the discrete nature of the process itself removes the disability request from the category of "vague future expectation of circumstance" rejected in Turrisi.
Alimony and marital property are two separate concepts and are awarded separately, but there is necessarily an interrelationship between the two, and the court is to review the same types of factors in deciding whether and how much to award in each category. Alston, 331 Md. at 509 n 12 (quoting McAlear v. McAlear, 298 Md. 320, 347, 469 A.2d 1256 (1984)). Although Dr. Collins, who is approximately fifty-one years of age and earns approximately $60,000 per year as an assistant professor, received a monetary award and is, in the words of the trial court, presently "self supporting," the court apparently believed that the impending disability award might reduce Dr. Collins' payments from the pension to such an extent that alimony might be appropriate. Reservation on the issue of alimony pending resolution of the disability application does not constitute an abuse of discretion.
On the other hand, reservation does not mean entitlement. It means only that when, pursuant to the reservation, application for alimony is made, the chancellor must then weigh the § 11-106 factors and on the basis of that weighing, determine what amount, if any, to allow, and whether to allow it for a definite period or indefinitely. If he does at some point award alimony, it will be subject to future revision under § 11-107. Turrisi, 308 Md. at 530. The denial or award of alimony would then be subject to appellate review. We note, however, that Dr. Collins, who is approximately fifty one years of age, earns approximately $60,000
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