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limited to no more than 8 years rather than continued
indefinitely until death or a change in circumstances. This is
consistent with the court of appeals' use of the terms "permanent
alimony" and "alimony for eight years".
Furthermore, the court of appeals refers to the 8 years of
payments as "alimony" in several places throughout the opinion.
We presume the court of appeals uses words of appropriate legal
meaning. We do not believe the court of appeals would use the
word "alimony" when referring to the payments made from Gregory
Ryan to Frances Ryan if it did not intend for the termination
upon death language to remain part of the final judgment of
divorce.
Alimony is defined under Michigan State law as payments
which: (1) Qualify as "alimony or separate maintenance" pursuant
to section 71(b); and (2) terminate upon the death of the payee
spouse. See Couzens v. Couzens, supra. By using the word
"alimony" in its opinion, we believe the court of appeals
intended for the payments to satisfy the requirements for alimony
under Michigan State law. To read anything else into the court
of appeals opinion would be presumptuous and inconsistent with
the plain language of the opinion.
Gregory and Patricia Ryan in their reply brief requested
that the Court order that respondent pay them $15,000 toward
their costs and attorney's fees. Rule 231 provides that any
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