Zaleski v. Zaleski

After a 16-year marriage, Mrs. Zaleski (plaintiff) sought a divorce from Mr. Zaleski (defendant). Both were educated professionals who had worked full time for most of the marriage; the husband earned about $400,000 a year, and the wife earned about $170,000 until she lost her job in 2008. The trial court found the wife employable and willing to work, and awarded her rehabilitative alimony of $11,667 per month for five years. She appealed, arguing she was entitled to open-ended general term alimony instead.

Whether a court must base the termination of a rehabilitative alimony award on a specific, known future event, or may instead rely on a reasonable expectation that the recipient will become self-sufficient within a set period.