188 Iowa 931 | Iowa | 1920
Defendant appeals from a decree granting plaintiff a divorce upon the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment, alimony, and an allowance for the support of an adopted daughter. Plaintiff, at the time of the trial, was 51 years of age, had been three times previously married, and had two minor children, aged 12 and 14 years, respectively. The parties' were married on November 26, 1914. On August 29, 1918, they adopted a female child, about 7 months old. Defendant, who is 55 years of age, served a.trifle over 31 years in the regular army, is a tailor by trade, and, at the time of the marriage, was retired from the army on pay. Many acts of cruelty toward plaintiff and her children are recited in the evidence, and defendant admits that, upon one occasion, he became angry, and destroyed a large amount of her furniture. While the evidence is more or less conflicting, a careful reading of
Much of the contention of counsel for appellant relates to the question of alimony. The property holdings of the respective parties, at the time of the marriage, were about as follows: Plaintiff was receiving the income from 120 acres, and owned two separate tracts, of 76 and 40 acres, respectively, in Polk County. She also had stock, grain, farm implements, and household furniture of considerable value. $550 was due her as the balance of the purchase price of some city property. This was paid shortly after the marriage. By the terms of her husband’s will, from whom she received her interest in the real estate above referred to, she forfeited the right to the income from the 120-acre tract by her marriage with defendant. Defendant, having served for something over 31 years in the regular army, was retired on pay. He is a tailor by trade, and, when employed; receives good wages. He also, at the time of the marriage, had a contract for the property which thereafter became their homestead, on which he had paid $630, and still owed a balance of $620, which was paid later. He had some household furniture, the value of which is not shown. Plaintiff claims that she expended at least $1,000 in improvements on the residence property, and that she has purchased most of her own clothing, and contributed substantially to the support of the family. The defendant, on the contrary, testified that, except for the few dollars retained by him each month out of his pay check of
Section 4010 of the Code of 1897 is as follows:
“The homestead of every such pensioner, whether the head of a family or not, purchased and paid for with any such pension money, or the proceeds or accumulations thereof, shall also be exempt; and such exemption shall apply to debts of such pensioner contracted prior to the purchase of the homestead.”
Section 4747, Revised Statutes of the United States, exempts pensions from levy or seizure under any process.
26 Statutes at Large 1082 provides:
“That hereafter no pension shall be allowed or paid to any officer, non-commissioned officer, or private in the army, navy, or marine corps of the United States, either on the active or retired list.”
Section 2082 of the Compiled Statutes of the United States is as follows:
“When an enlisted man has served as such thirty years in the United States army or marine corps, either as private or noncommissioned officer, or both, he shall by application to the president be placed on the retired list hereby created, with the rank held by him at the date of retirement, and he shall receive thereafter seventy-five per centum of the pay and allowances of the rank upon which he was retired: Provided, That if said enlisted man had war service with the army in the field, or in the navy or marine corps in active service, either as volunteer or regular, during the War of the Rebellion, such war service shall be computed as double time in computing the thirty years necessary to entitle him to be retired.”
So far as we are aware, the pay of a retired soldier has never been treated as a pension, under the statutes of the United States or the statutes of the various states exempting the same from seizure under legal process. The word