Wiedel v. Wiedel, 300 Neb. 13

Mark and Jeanne Wiedel married in 2000, separated in 2014, and divorced in 2017; they have triplets born in 2004 and share joint custody with a week-on/week-off schedule.
The parties executed a property settlement agreement (PSA) before trial dividing substantial assets: Mark received the marital home, income-producing farmland and farming interests (claimed ~$2.5M); Jeanne received a $265,000 judgment and some smaller assets.
Jeanne worked full time earning roughly $30,000/year and has rheumatoid arthritis with high medication costs; she requested $3,500/month alimony for 15 years.
Mark is a self-employed farmer with variable farm income but historically draws $72,000/year from the farm; he proposed $500/month alimony for 5 years and argued his net income could not support the trial court’s award.
The district court approved the PSA and parenting plan, adopted Mark’s child-support calculation (monthly child support $876), and ordered Mark to pay $2,500/month alimony for 10 years; Mark appealed solely as to alimony amount and duration.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Jeanne)	Defendant's Argument (Mark)	Held
Amount of alimony	Needs support to meet expenses; requested $3,500/mo	$2,500/mo plus child support and children’s expenses will leave him below subsistence; award is excessive	Affirmed $2,500/mo — court found obligor’s net after obligations remained above subsistence and Mark has ability to pay
Duration of alimony	Needs long-term support given health, children, and income disparity	10 years is unreasonably long; requested 5 years	Affirmed 10 years — marriage length, minor children, Jeanne’s health and earning capacity justify 10 years
Whether court properly considered PSA and assets	PSA approved and incorporated; Jeanne relied on cash judgment for housing	Mark argued asset award (farmland) and proposed sale plans mean alimony should be lower	Court considered PSA assets (including income-producing farmland and inheritance) and found them relevant but did not make alimony merely an equalizer
Use of child-support income calculation in alimony analysis	Jeanne used child-support calc showing higher Mark income	Mark argued court’s child-support adoption still left him unable to afford alimony	Court accepted Mark’s child-support income figures for support calculations but concluded overall evidence showed ability to pay alimony $2,500/mo

Becher v. Becher, 299 Neb. 206, 908 N.W.2d 12 (discusses standard of review and factors for alimony and property division)
Anderson v. Anderson, 290 Neb. 530, 861 N.W.2d 113 (sets factors for alimony and purpose/duration considerations)
Gress v. Gress, 274 Neb. 686, 743 N.W.2d 67 (addresses basic subsistence limitation and speculative expenses in alimony/support analysis)
Brozek v. Brozek, 292 Neb. 681, 874 N.W.2d 17 (property awarded, including inherited property, may be considered in alimony determinations)
Binder v. Binder, 291 Neb. 255, 864 N.W.2d 689 (income and earning capacity considerations relevant to support and alimony)