Gregory v. Gregory

877 N.E.2d 333, 172 Ohio App. 3d 822, 2007 Ohio 4098
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 10, 2007
DocketNo. 22011.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 877 N.E.2d 333 (Gregory v. Gregory) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gregory v. Gregory, 877 N.E.2d 333, 172 Ohio App. 3d 822, 2007 Ohio 4098 (Ohio Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Wolff, Presiding Judge.

{¶ 1} Steven Gregory appeals from a final judgment and decree of divorce entered by the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division.

{¶ 2} Steven and Nancy Gregory were married in August 1985, and two children were born of the marriage. Nancy was the primary wage earner during the marriage, and Steven maintained steady employment as an electrician at the Mound. In early 2003, when the Mound was downsizing, the Gregorys agreed that Steven should accept a severance package and return to school. Thereafter, the marriage appears to have deteriorated, and Steven did not promptly begin school or find other employment. He did begin school at Sinclair Community College after a few months, but he admittedly made a “poor showing.”

{¶ 3} On September 30, 2004, Nancy filed a complaint for divorce. She also sought a restraining order restricting Steven’s disposal of property, among other things. On October 14, 2004, the trial court granted the restraining order.

{¶ 4} The trial court conducted a hearing on January 24, 2006, at which each party testified on his or her own behalf. The court entered its final judgment and decree of divorce and a final decree of shared parenting on January 5, 2007. It used October 14, 2004, as the date on which the marriage had ended. The parties’ assets were divided, and Nancy was named the residential parent of the parties’ children.

*825 {¶ 5} Steven appeals from several aspects of the trial court’s judgment, raising ten assignments of error. In reviewing these assignments of error, we recognize that the trial court exercises broad discretion in dividing marital assets and in setting child and spousal support. Neville v. Neville, 99 Ohio St.3d 275, 2003-Ohio-3624, 791 N.E.2d 434, ¶ 5; Moore v. Moore, 166 Ohio App.3d 429, 2006-Ohio-1431, 850 N.E.2d 1265, ¶ 7, 16.

{¶ 6} I. “The trial court abused its discretion by imputing income to appellant when determining his child support obligations.”

{¶ 7} Steven argues that the factors set forth at R.C. 3119.01(C)(ll)(a) did not support the trial court’s decision to impute income to him in its child-support calculations. Nancy contends that the court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Steven had been voluntarily underemployed.

{¶ 8} The parties agree that Steven left his employment at the Mound in 2003 by their mutual agreement when he was offered a severance package and his future job security was in question. It is undisputed that Steven earned $42,000 — the amount of income imputed to him — at the Mound. The parties’ understanding when Steven left his employment was that he would return to school. Nancy apparently believed that Steven would maintain a full-time class load in pursuit of a degree and would work part-time during school. Steven did neither. He admittedly made a “poor showing” in his grades and completion of classes and did not seek full- or part-time employment. Even after the parties’ separation, it is unclear whether Steven sought employment. He testified that he had taken out personal loans and borrowed from friends and family to pay his expenses because he wanted to pursue his education instead of employment. Steven also claimed that he suffered a “psychotic episode” and extreme stress related to the deterioration of the marriage that caused him to delay his enrollment in school and prevented him from finding meaningful employment.

{¶ 9} Steven claims that the trial court abused its discretion in imputing income to him because he had quit his job by agreement of the parties, had helped to take care of the children, and had provided for the family through unemployment benefits. He contends that his knowledge of electronics was “rudimentary,” that he needed more training, and that Nancy had an educational advantage.

{¶ 10} R.C. 3119.01(C)(11) sets forth the factors to be considered in imputing income. Those factors include what the parent would have earned if fully employed, prior employment experience, education, physical, and mental disabilities, if any, and availability of employment in the area.

{¶ 11} In our view, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imputing income or in calculating its amount. Steven earned $42,000 in 2003 at the Mound. Since leaving the Mound, he had returned to school and had nearly completed his *826 second associate degree, as the parties had planned and in anticipation of earning more income. The court concluded that the parties’ agreement that Steven would pursue his education in lieu of working “was no longer viable or reasonable once the marriage began to break down.” Moreover, the court concluded that Steven “neither matriculated nor worked,” even after Nancy had asked him to return to work at least part-time. In the court’s view, Steven provided no evidence that he could not work full time and complete his classes part time. Based on Steven’s previous earning capacity and his recent education, the trial court could have reasonably imputed income at the same level as his previous employment.

{¶ 12} The first assignment of error is overruled.

{¶ 13} II. “The trial court abused its discretion by ordering appellant to pay one-half of the minor children’s parochial school tuition or alternatively by failing to apply tuition expenses and health care costs as credits to appellant’s child support obligation.”

{¶ 14} Steven claims that the trial court erred in ordering him to pay one-half of the tuition for his children’s parochial school or, in the alternative, in failing to give him a credit against his child-support obligations for monies spent on tuition and health care.

{¶ 15} The parties had agreed during their marriage to send their children to parochial school, and at the time of the divorce, the older child was in the seventh grade. The court reasonably concluded that the children should not be required to change schools in the midst of the divorce and that the older child should be permitted to finish elementary school at his current school. Thus, the court ordered that the children remain in Catholic school for two years, with the parties splitting the cost equally. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering Steven to pay half of the children’s tuition.

{¶ 16} To effectuate the shared tuition costs, the trial court reimbursed Nancy for half of the tuition that she had already paid during the parties’ separation by awarding her the parties’ entire 2004 state and federal tax returns. The refunds totaled $7,798. Additionally, Nancy was ordered to pay for the children’s tuition for the school year ending in 2006. She also benefitted from the proceeds of a school raffle in which she won a $2,100 tuition credit.

{¶ 17} The evidence showed that the grade school tuition was $3,900 per year for the two children, which was reduced by Nancy’s raffle winnings for the 2005-2006 school year. Thus, Steven contends that it was unreasonable for the court to award Nancy almost $10,000 to offset her payment of the tuition.

{¶ 18} We cannot address this contention on the record before us. We cannot determine whether the court awarded Nancy too large an amount to cover

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Bluebook (online)
877 N.E.2d 333, 172 Ohio App. 3d 822, 2007 Ohio 4098, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gregory-v-gregory-ohioctapp-2007.