Baker, J.
Dorothy Campbell appeals the trial court’s order dissolving her marriage to Mark Campbell. Dorothy argues that the trial court erroneously denied her request for spousal maintenance and erroneously valued one of the parties’ assets. Finding no error, we affirm.
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Dorothy first argues that the trial court erred by denying her request for spousal maintenance. The trial court may award spousal maintenance upon finding that a spouse is incapacitated and her ability to support herself is materially affected. Ind. Code § 31-15-7-2(1). Findings are required by statute to support an award of incapacity maintenance, see I.C. § 31-15-7-1, but there is no corresponding requirement that findings be entered when incapacity maintenance is denied. Thus, the trial court’s findings here are “special findings.” Ind. Trial Rule 52(A)(3); Cannon v. Cannon, 758 N.E.2d 524, 526 (Ind. 2001) (determining, in reviewing findings from which trial court concluded wife was not entitled to incapacity maintenance, that findings supporting denial would be treated as special findings). We will not set aside special findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Alexander v. Alexander, 980 N.E.2d 878, 880 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). The weight of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses are matters for the trial court to assess. Id.
There are two ways in which a party to a divorce may be obligated to make spousal maintenance payments: either the parties agree to maintenance in a negotiated settlement agreement or the court may order maintenance payments in limited circumstances. Palmby v. Palmby, 10 N.E.3d 580, 583 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014). One of these circumstances occurs when the trial court finds “a spouse to be physically or mentally incapacitated to the extent that the ability of the incapacitated spouse to support himself or herself is materially affected[.]” I.C. § 31-15-7-2(1). If the trial court makes that finding, it may order maintenance. Id. Because such an award is designed to help provide for the incapacitated spouse’s sustenance and support, the essential inquiry is whether the spouse can support herself. Alexander, 980 N.E.2d at 881. An award of incapacity maintenance is within the trial court’s discretion. Barton v. Barton, 47 N.E.3d 368, 375 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
It is undisputed that Dorothy was seventy-three years old at the time of the hearing and has an eighth-grade education. Moreover, while the parties may not agree upon her precise diagnoses, there is no real dispute that she has had years of serious medical problems and has been considered to be disabled and entitled to SSD since 1997.
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The trial court found that Dorothy was not incapacitated to the extent that her ability to support herself is materially affected. She argues that this conclusion is clearly erroneous based on the evidence in the record. Even if we were to agree with her position for argument’s sake—in other words, even if the trial court should have found that Dorothy was incapacitated—the award of maintenance was still within the trial court’s discretion. The statute does not enumerate factors that must be considered or facts that must be weighed as the trial court exercises its discretion on this matter. Here, the trial court considered the evidence before it and made a careful judgment that maintenance is not warranted in this case. Although it could likewise have reached the opposite result on these facts, we see no reason to conclude that the trial court exceeded its discretion in denying the maintenance request.
There will come a time in the lives of most of us when we are unable to work, whether because of age or disability. To reverse in this case would imply that if one of the divorcing parties is elderly and receiving SSD, maintenance is always required. We decline to reach such a result. [Footnote omitted.] Cases like this are extremely fact-sensitive and filled with nuance that our trial courts are best able to sift through. We believe it wise of our legislature to vest our trial courts with discretion in such matters and will not step into the trial court’s exercise of discretion here. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s decision to deny Dorothy’s request for spousal maintenance. [Footnote omitted.]
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The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
May, J., concurs.
Robb, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with a separate opinion.
Robb, Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s resolution with respect to spousal maintenance. [Footnote omitted.] I agree with the majority that an award of spousal maintenance is a matter within the trial court’s discretion, see slip op. at ¶ 5, and that even if a trial court were to find a spouse incapacitated, it is not required by the statute to award maintenance, see id. at ¶ 8; but see Cannon, 758 N.E.2d at 527 (noting that although the statutory language makes a maintenance award discretionary, “the trial court should normally award incapacity maintenance” if it finds a spouse is mentally or physically incapacitated). I also agree that an SSD award does not necessarily equate to incapacity in every situation. See id. at ¶ 9 n.3.
Despite my agreement with these general principles of law, I am unable to agree with the majority that on these facts, the trial court did not abuse its discretion. The trial court stated it was unsure if Dorothy’s benefits were for disability or retirement, mentioned Dorothy’s age as the reason for her not working, and implied that Dorothy was required to present evidence other than her own testimony that she was unable to work due to her disability. These findings suggest to me that the trial court did not apply the appropriate standard in determining whether Dorothy should be awarded spousal maintenance.
As the majority notes, Dorothy’s benefits were clearly for disability and no one suggested otherwise. Although receiving such benefits does not automatically entitle her to spousal maintenance, that she has been deemed eligible for such benefits should be a consideration in the trial court’s determination. Her inability to work is not a function of her age, it is a function of her disability, which caused her to cease working in 1996. For the ensuing nearly twenty years, Mark has benefited from her SSD payments and provided for any financial shortfall. She has no safety net now…
To the extent the trial court’s findings indicate it may have failed to consider that Dorothy receives SSD benefits, determined her disability did not materially affect her ability to support herself because her age would have impacted her earning ability regardless, and required additional evidence Dorothy was not required to offer to support her request, I believe the trial court abused its discretion. I would remand for the trial court to reconsider Dorothy’s request for spousal maintenance in light of the correct standard.