Alfieri, K. v. Alfieri, T.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 28, 2021
Docket618 WDA 2020
StatusUnpublished

This text of Alfieri, K. v. Alfieri, T. (Alfieri, K. v. Alfieri, T.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alfieri, K. v. Alfieri, T., (Pa. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

J-A06017-21

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

KIMBERLY S. ALFIERI : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : THOMAS M. ALFIERI : : Appellant : No. 618 WDA 2020

Appeal from the Order Entered May 21, 2020 In the Court of Common Pleas of McKean County Civil Division at No(s): DR59-11

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., LAZARUS, J., and McCAFFERY, J.

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED: May 28, 2021

Thomas M. Alfieri (Father)1 appeals from the order, entered in the Court

of Common Pleas of McKean County, denying his petition for modification of

support. After careful review, we find Father’s claims are meritless. We affirm

based on the opinion authored by the Honorable Christopher G. Hauser.

Father and Kimberly S. Alfieri (Mother)2 were married on May 6, 2000.

They are the parents of three children, now ages 14, 17 and 20. The parties

separated in 2011, and the court entered a final decree of divorce on January

____________________________________________

1 Contrary to the briefing requirements set forth in Chapter 21 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure, Father has neglected to include in his brief a Statement of Jurisdiction, see Pa.R.A.P. 2114, or the Order or Other Determination in Question. See Pa.R.A.P. 2115. “The verbatim text of the order or other determination under review is added as a principal element of appellant’s brief[.]” Pa.R.A.P. 2115 - Explanatory Comment.

2 Mother has not filed an appellee’s brief. J-A06017-21

17, 2014. The parties reached an agreement for a 50-50 shared custody

arrangement, which the court adopted as an order on August 3, 2012.

Father is a retired schoolteacher. Mother, formerly a schoolteacher, is

currently a guidance counselor in the Otto Eldred School District. Both parties

have pensions through the Public School Employees’ Retirement System

(PSERS).3

Father’s primary source of income is his pension, although he also earns

a small income from coaching sports. Father had been paying Mother child

support in the amount of $487.30 per month. He retired in May 2019 and, on

October 11, 2019, filed a petition to modify support based on changed

circumstances. The court granted Father’s petition and reduced his obligation

to $25.27 per month. Father filed exceptions, which the trial court denied.

On appeal, Father raises the following issues:

1. Did the family law master and trial court commit error in calculating [Father’s] gross monthly income by including pension payments as income for purposes of child support where the pension had been appraised as an asset and divided in equitable distribution?

2. Did the family law master and trial court commit error in concluding that Pennsylvania law permits the double counting of an asset, which had been divided in equitable distribution, to then again be counted as income for purposes of child support?

3. Did the family law master and trial court commit error in considering non-marital portions of [Father’s] pension for purposes of child support calculations, where the non-marital ____________________________________________

3 The marital portion of Husband’s pension was valued at $149,789.38; the

marital portion of Wife’s pension was valued at $46,098.68.

-2- J-A06017-21

portions of the pension were expressly considered by the [c]ourt in the equitable distribution award pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 3502(8)?

4. Did the family law master and trial court commit error in failing to even consider or to award [Father] child support where it is not disputed that [Mother] has a higher income than [Father] and the parties have a 50-50 custody schedule?

5. Did the family law master and trial court commit error in holding that it had no authority to award child support to [Father] because he had not filed a separate support complaint?

6. Did the family law master and trial court commit error in failing to follow Pa.R.C.P. 1910.5. and Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-4(c)(2) which state that a child support order may be entered against either party without regard to which party initiated the action?

Appellant’s Brief, at 1-2.

When evaluating a support order, this Court may only reverse the trial court’s determination where the order cannot be sustained on any valid ground. We will not interfere with the broad discretion afforded the trial court absent an abuse of the discretion or insufficient evidence to sustain the support order. An abuse of discretion is not merely an error of judgment; if, in reaching a conclusion, the court overrides or misapplies the law, or the judgment exercised is shown by the record to be either manifestly unreasonable or the product of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will, discretion has been abused.

Mencer v. Ruch, 928 A.2d 294, 297 (Pa. Super. 2007) (quoting D.H. v. R.H.,

900 A.2d 922, 927 (Pa. Super. 2006)). To the extent the issues involve

interpretation and application of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which are

questions of law, we employ a de novo standard of review and plenary scope

of review. Hanrahan v. Bakker, 186 A.3d 958, 966 (Pa. 2018).

-3- J-A06017-21

In his first three issues, Father argues the court’s calculation of his

monthly income available for support was in error, as the “pension payments

had been valued previously and divided in equitable distribution.” Appellant’s

Brief, at 7. He claims that counting his pension payments as income available

for support constituted “double dipping,” in contravention of this Court’s

holding in Hess v. Hess, 212 A.3d 520 (Pa. Super. 2019). Id. In his last

three issues, Father argues that since his monthly income is less than

Mother’s, and the parties have a 50-50 custody arrangement, he is entitled to

a child support award and the court’s finding that Father had to file a separate

complaint in support, was error. Appellant’s Brief, at 8.

Father’s argument that the court “double dipped” ignores the fact that

the calculation considered pension payments that were non-marital property.

In Hess, supra, we stated, “this Court has repeatedly held that an asset

awarded in equitable distribution may not be included in an individual’s income

for purposes of calculating support payments.” Hess, 212 A.3d at 524, citing

Miller v. Miller, 783 A.2d 832, 835-836 (Pa. Super. 2001). As the trial court

explained here, Father’s pension was based on forty years of teaching, and

the marital portion of that pension was only ten years. The pension payments

Father receives now “reflect only non-marital assets.” See Trial Court

Opinion, 8/14/20, at 5.

In his final three issues, Father contends that he should not be obligated

to pay support where (1) the parties share custody equally and (2) his income

is lower than Mother’s. He also argues that he is entitled to a child support

-4- J-A06017-21

award retroactive to the October 11, 2019, the date that he filed his petition

for modification. See Appellant’s Brief, at 8, 23.

Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1910.16-4(c)(2) provides, in

relevant part:

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Related

Miller v. Miller
783 A.2d 832 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2001)
Mencer v. Ruch
928 A.2d 294 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Hanrahan, M., Aplt. v. Bakker, J.
186 A.3d 958 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
Hess, R. v. Hess, J.
212 A.3d 520 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
Howland v. Howland
900 A.2d 922 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)

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Bluebook (online)
Alfieri, K. v. Alfieri, T., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alfieri-k-v-alfieri-t-pasuperct-2021.