Carter v. Carter

2006 ME 68, 900 A.2d 200, 2006 Me. LEXIS 83
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedJune 13, 2006
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 2006 ME 68 (Carter v. Carter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Carter, 2006 ME 68, 900 A.2d 200, 2006 Me. LEXIS 83 (Me. 2006).

Opinion

SAUFLEY, C.J.

[¶ 1] Kim Carter appeals from a divorce judgment entered by the District Court (Ellsworth, KMurray, J.). She argues that the court erred in finding the value of the parties’ camp and abused its discretion in dividing the marital property and debt, determining spousal support, and denying her request for attorney fees. We affirm the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶2] John E. Carter filed a complaint for a divorce from Kim Carter after almost eighteen years of marriage. After a hearing, the court made findings of fact and entered a divorce judgment that distributed the parties’ property and awarded spousal support.

[¶ 3] The parties own three parcels of land: (1) a residence in Bucksport in which *202 they have equity of $89,900; 1 (2) an apartment building in Bucksport in which they have equity of $62,000; and (3) a camp in Penobscot valued by the court at $30,000, which is unencumbered by any debt. Kim testified that she could not afford to maintain the parties’ residence and asked that the court award the house to John and order that he be responsible for the debt on the house. She also testified that she would like to own the apartment building so she would have a place to live and could supplement her income.

[¶ 4] The parties had a life insurance policy, but John surrendered it for $8700 in cash after filing his divorce complaint. 2 John is entitled to participate in a pension program offered by his employer, which, upon retirement, will pay him monthly at a rate of $39 times the number of years he worked for the company. 3 There was no evidence offered as to the present value, if any, of this benefit. John has a 401(k) worth $75,000. Kim does not have any retirement related assets.

[¶ 5] John, age 38 at the time of trial, earned $63,000 in 2004 from employment at International Paper, with the same earnings anticipated for the next year. Kim, age 48 at the time of the hearing, earned $8300 in 2004 from her employment with the United States Postal Service and expected her 2005 earnings to be $8200. Kim testified that she is likely to obtain full-time employment upon the retirement of her superior in the next year or so. She would then earn $38,000 to $40,000 per year.

[¶ 6] According to John’s testimony, there are three units in the apartment building that rent for $925, $700, and $625 per month, resulting in $27,000 per year in income. John testified, however, that the annual expenses totaled approximately $20,000, resulting in an annual profit that ranges from $7000 to $10,000.

[¶ 7] The court awarded to John the residence, the camp, his pension proceeds, half the 401(k), personal property worth approximately $11,000, and the bank accounts in his name. To Kim, the court awarded the apartment building, half the 401(k), and personal property worth approximately $52,650. The court made each party responsible for the debts secured by the real property each was awarded and allocated the remaining debts between the two parties.

[¶ 8] The following table 4 records the court’s distribution of property and allocation of debts:

*203 John Kjm
Personal Property_$ 11,000 . $ 52,650
401(k)_37,500_37,500
Real Property 239,900 5 122,000
Debts on Real Property_(120,000)_( 60,000)
Purchase of Adult Daughter’s Car ( 16,000)
Citibank Credit Card ( 21,000)
Bank One Credit Card ( 12,500) ( 12,500)
Store Credit Cards ( 12,900)
Pension Not valued 0
TOTAL PROPERTY VALUE $118,900 + pension $126,750

[¶ 9] Relying on the factors enumerated in 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A(5)(A)-(H) and (O) (2005), the court also awarded general spousal support to Kim to enable her to maintain a reasonable standard of living despite her lower income and lower income potential. Kim requested $200 per week for the rest of her life. The judgment provided for John to pay her $200 per week for nine years. Neither party was ordered to pay attorney fees.

[¶ 10] Based on the court’s judgment, taking into account the award of spousal support, John would have $52,600 in income. 6 Kim would have $8200 in income from her employment, which is likely to increase to $38,000 or $40,000 in the next year or so. She would also receive $10,400 in spousal support and, assuming each apartment in the apartment building accounts for a share of expenses proportionate to its rental rate, she would receive $4100 to $7260 in rental income, depending upon which apartment she elects to occupy and whether the annual profits run as low as $7000 or'as high as $10,000.

[¶ 11] After the court entered its judgment, Kim filed a motion to enlarge time for filing a motion for further findings of fact and conclusions of law. John objected that the motion to enlarge was not timely filed, citing M.R. Civ. P. 52(a), and the court denied Kim’s motion to enlarge.

[¶ 12] Kim timely appealed from the divorce judgment.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Valuation of the. Camp

[¶ 13] Kim contends that the court undervalued the camp. Because John’s competent testimony regarding the camp’s value supports the court’s valuation of the camp, Peters v. Peters, 1997 ME 134, ¶ 14, 697 A2d 1254, 1259, we conclude that the trial court did not err in its valuation, even if other evidence could support another finding, see D’Angelo v. McNutt, 2005 ME 31, ¶ 6, 868 A.2d 239, 242.

B. Division of Property and Allocation of Debt

[¶ 14] We review the divorce court’s division of marital property and debts for an abuse of discretion. Bonville v. Bonville, 2006 ME 3, ¶9, 890 A.2d 263, 266. The division need not be equal, but it must be fair and just considering all of the *204 parties’ circumstances. Murphy v. Murphy, 2008 ME 17, ¶ 27, 816 A.2d 814, 822.

1. Marital Residence

[¶ 15] Because Kim’s own testimony indicated that she wished to have the apartment building, not the residence, the court did not abuse its discretion in awarding John the residence.

2. Proceeds from John’s Pension

[¶ 16] Taking into account the financial effect of the judgment as a whole, see Tibbetts v. Tibbetts,

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Bluebook (online)
2006 ME 68, 900 A.2d 200, 2006 Me. LEXIS 83, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-carter-me-2006.