Shewbridge v. Shewbridge
Louisiana Court of Appeal
720 So. 2d 780 (1998)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Beverly Shewbridge (plaintiff) and Anthol Shewbridge (defendant) married when Anthol was an aviation-science student at Northwestern University. Anthol subsequently completed his undergraduate degree and obtained his commercial pilot’s license. Beverly filed for divorce a few months later and sought compensation for her contributions toward Anthol’s enhanced earning capacity. At trial, Beverly presented evidence that she had worked full time while Anthol completed his education and training, that her income covered Anthol’s living expenses and a portion of his educational expenses, and that it was a struggle to make ends meet on her income alone. The Shewbridges’ tax returns reflected that only Beverly had earned income during the marriage. Beverly testified that Anthol agreed to support her in obtaining her nursing degree after completing his pilot’s training. Anthol challenged, arguing that Beverly was not entitled to compensation for her alleged contributions. Anthol argued that Beverly had not missed out on any benefits because his post-training income was modest. Anthol also argued that his educational expenses were covered by either his own earnings or contributions from his father, but Anthol failed to provide any supporting evidence for those claims. The trial court credited Beverly’s version of events and awarded her a lump sum to compensate her for her contributions toward Anthol’s enhanced earning capacity. Anthol appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gaskins, J.)
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