Gilliam v. Gilliam

374 S.W.3d 108, 2010 Ark. App. 137, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 126
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 11, 2010
DocketNo. CA 08-809
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 374 S.W.3d 108 (Gilliam v. Gilliam) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilliam v. Gilliam, 374 S.W.3d 108, 2010 Ark. App. 137, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 126 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge.

| [In this divorce case, both parties appeal from certain aspects of the Craighead County Circuit Court’s decree. Appellant Arnold Gilliam raises five points for reversal concerning the division of marital property and debt and the award of alimony and attorney’s fees to appellee Jamie Gilliam. Appellee raises one point on cross-appeal concerning the calculation of appellant’s income for child support and alimony purposes. We affirm on direct appeal and on cross-appeal.

The parties married in 1986 while appellant was attending medical school. Two children were born during the marriage, a daughter who had reached majority by the time of trial and a son who was fifteen. The son suffers from dyslexia. After the birth of the parties’ daughter, appellee did not work outside the home. The parties separated in 2005. Appellee |2filed her complaint for divorce on September 22, 2005. Appellant filed an answer and counterclaim.

A temporary order was entered on December 14, 2005. That order awarded temporary custody of the children to ap-pellee, and appellant was ordered to pay child support of $3,200 per month. Appellant was also ordered to pay spousal support of $1,500 per month, the debt on the parties’ vehicles, and the mortgage debt on the parties’ marital residence. Appellee was awarded temporary possession of the marital residence. The court deferred the issue of attorney’s fees and suit money until the final hearing.

Trial was held in the case on October 2 and 10, 2007. After hearing the testimony of witnesses, viewing the documentary evidence, and receiving briefs from the parties, the circuit court issued a letter opinion on November 30, 2007. Appellant was awarded a divorce on his counterclaim on the basis of eighteen months’ separation. Appellee was awarded custody of the parties’ son. After commenting that calculating appellant’s income was difficult because appellant was not self-employed, the court found appellant’s income to be $15,895 per month. The court stated that the presumed amount of child support was $2,384 per month. However, the court set appellant’s support obligation at $2,400 per month. Based on the disparity in the parties’ incomes and the fact that appellee had not worked outside the home, appellant was ordered to pay all of the minor child’s medical and dental expenses until the later of when the child graduated from high school or reached his majority.

|sThe court found that the parties’ marital residence was surrounded by forty-two acres. The property was appraised as being worth $330,000 the week before trial and was encumbered by three mortgages totaling $296,260. The court awarded ap-pellee exclusive possession of the residence until the later of the minor child reaching majority or graduating from high school. At that time, the property would be sold with the proceeds divided equally between the parties. Appellant was ordered to continue making the three monthly mortgage payments on the property, and was to be reimbursed out of the sales proceeds for the payments on the second and third mortgages.

The court awarded appellee one-half the value of appellant’s interest in the medical practice. The court noted that the parties presented conflicting evidence as to the value of this interest. Appellee’s net valuation was $100,131, while appellant’s net valuation was $88,162. The court found that appellant had various retirement accounts totaling $394,458 that were marital property. Appellee was awarded one-half of this amount.

Appellant was awarded his vehicle and was to be responsible for the debt on that vehicle, as well as the debt on the vehicle purchased for the parties’ daughter. Ap-pellee was awarded a 2007 Toyota Corolla, a 2000 Ford F350 pick-up, two horse trailers, a tractor, and a riding lawn mower. She was to be responsible for the debts on these items. The court noted that there was little information as to the value of these vehicles. However, based on the facts, circumstances, and situation of the parties, the court found this to be an equitable distribution.

|4The court found that two horses were the separate property of appellee, other horses were the separate property of the children, and that appellant had sold one of the horses to raise money for the purchase of a vehicle for the parties’ daughter. Appellee was awarded approximately $1,700 as her share of the proceeds from that sale.

The parties were found to have made a division in kind of the horses and certain weapons and hunting equipment. The court found that it was equitable to divide these items pursuant to the agreement. The court also noted that there was very little evidence as to the value of these items. Certain items of personal property, primarily furniture and household items, were then awarded to the parties and to the children.

Appellee was found to be a dependent spouse who had not worked outside of the home during the marriage. The court considered the division of property and other factors before concluding that appellee should be awarded alimony of $2,700 per month. Appellant was ordered to pay all marital debts unless otherwise assigned. Finally, the court awarded appellee an attorney’s fee of $12,000.

The court later modified its letter opinion to provide that appellant would be entitled to be reimbursed for all of his payments on the debt on the marital-residence property from the date of divorce until the date of sale. The court also recalculated appellant’s income to be $14,129 per month. Based on this new income calculation, appellant’s new child-support obligation was $2,065 per month, and alimony was $2,400 per month. The court’s written decree was entered on March 14, 2008.

| ^Appellant filed a motion for a new trial on March 27, 2008, contending that the court’s findings regarding the division of property and marital debt were against the preponderance of the evidence, and that the decisions to award appellee alimony and her attorney’s fees were abuses of the court’s discretion.

Appellant filed his notice of appeal from the decree on April 14, 2008. Appellee filed her notice of cross-appeal on April 28, 2008. The circuit court denied appellant’s motion for new trial by order entered on April 28, 2008. Appellant amended his notice of appeal to include the denial of his motion for new trial on May 27, 2008.

For his first point, appellant argues that the circuit court erred in awarding alimony to appellee. Appellant contends that the circuit court should have awarded appellee rehabilitative alimony for a short period of time to enable her to re-enter the workforce instead of permanent alimony. Appellant also argues that the amount of the award was excessive.

The purpose of alimony is to rectify the economic imbalances in earning power and standard of living in light of the particular facts of each case. Kuchmas v. Kuchmas, 368 Ark. 48, 243 S.W.3d 270 (2006). The primary factors that a court should consider in awarding alimony are the financial need of one spouse and the other spouse’s ability to pay. See id. The circuit court may also consider other factors, including the couple’s past standard of living, the earning capacity of each spouse, the resources and assets of each party, and the duration of the marriage. Johnson v. Cotton-Johnson, 88 Ark.App.

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Bluebook (online)
374 S.W.3d 108, 2010 Ark. App. 137, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilliam-v-gilliam-arkctapp-2010.