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26 Mo. 235

Schmidt v. Schmidt

Supreme Court of Missouri

Decided January 15, 1858

Supreme Court of Missouri · decided 1858-01-15

This was a suit for divorce by Henrietta E. Schmidt against Herman P. Schmidt. The cause was tried by the court. The court rendered a decree in favor of plaintiff. In the finding of the facts made by the court it is not stated that plaintiff was the innocent and injured party. It appears from the finding that “ there was no evidence introduced showing the annual income of the party belonging to defendant.” The court found that he had property worth about $1100.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““All that portion of the decree which relates to the subject of alimony, is subject to the future.control of the court.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Francis v. Francis

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1858-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently October 1960

3 state decisions

10185818601870188018901900191019201930194019501960decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Scott, Judge,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2There is nothing in the objection to the decree that the court failed to find the plaintiff to be the injured and innocent party, as the statute only makes that necessary when the proceeding is ex parte. As both parties appeared to the suit, the provision of the statute to which reference has been made is not applicable.

¶3We do not see the point of the objection to that part of the decree allowing alimony. All that portion of the decree which relates to the subject of alimony, is subject to the future control of the court. In the allowance of alimony the court is not restricted to the income of the husband. There is nothing in the law which restricts the allowance of alimony to a portion of the husband’s income. Such a principle, in many instances, would deprive the wife of alimony. When there is an income it may furnish a guide to the discretion in ascertaining the amount of alimony to be allowed to the wife.

¶4As to the authority granted to the clerk to issue execution for the instalments as they become due, we see no objection to it, as the instalments are payable quarterly, and the court sits but semi-annually. We do not see how otherwise the payment of the alimony could be enforced. It is in the *237power of the party to avoid all inconvenience by prompt payment of the instalments as they become due. Moreover, the court can control its process. If it should not be in session, yet, under the general execution law, the judge in vacation may control an execution irregularly or improperly issued. The court also may make such alterations in the decree relating to alimony as may be proper. If, in the execution of the order touching alimony, any thing harsh or oppressive to the husband occurs, the court has authority and it would be its duty to remove the cause of it by an amendment of the order. The other judges concurring, the judgment will be affirmed.

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