Head v. Head

523 N.E.2d 17, 168 Ill. App. 3d 697, 119 Ill. Dec. 549, 1988 Ill. App. LEXIS 378
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 29, 1988
Docket87-0590
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 523 N.E.2d 17 (Head v. Head) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Head v. Head, 523 N.E.2d 17, 168 Ill. App. 3d 697, 119 Ill. Dec. 549, 1988 Ill. App. LEXIS 378 (Ill. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

JUSTICE BILANDIC

delivered the opinion of the court:

A judgment of dissolution of marriage was entered on December 11, 1985. The parties do not contest the dissolution of the marriage or child custody. This appeal concerns economic issues, namely, the valuation and distribution of marital property, the maintenance award, child support, and the allocation of attorney fees.

Petitioner, Suzanne S. Head (hereafter the wife) and respondent Henry B. Head (hereinafter the husband) were married in Chicago, Illinois, on April 15, 1961. The husband was a medical resident and the wife was a nurse. They have five children. When the judgment was entered, the husband was 51 years old, the wife 45 years old, and two of the children were minors. The husband is a physician specializing in internal medicine with a subspecialty of gastroenterology. The wife was a part-time real estate agent and presently a graduate student pursuing an advanced business degree.

It is not necessary to burden this opinion with a detailed list of total marital assets and the trial court’s allocation. The husband challenges the propriety of the valuation placed on certain assets and what he considers inequitable burdens assigned to him.

A critical dispute arose over the value of the husband’s interest in a professional corporation known as Cummins, Head & Khoury, Ltd., which he used for his medical practice. At the time of trial, the husband’s annual income from this professional corporation was approximately $160,000. The wife’s average annual real estate brokerage income over the last 10 years amounted to $12,000.

I

The judgment provided that the “Husband is awarded his interest in the professional service corporation *** constituting his medical practice which is valued at $175,000.” It finds that the wife’s experts determined the value to be $515,000 “using a capitalization earnings” method and that “the court is unable to accept Wife’s valuation.” The court also found that the professional corporation “generated revenues considerably greater than the average earned by internists in similar urban areas” due to the “skills and professional reputations of the doctors” and to a considerable degree, due to the husband’s “special training and skill in the sub-specialty of gastroenterology.” That portion of the judgment then concludes that “the reasonable value of this asset is $175,000.”

The husband’s expert fixed the value of his interest in the professional corporation at $58,000, which is based on the value of the tangible assets. Both parties agree that there was no other evidence presented regarding the value of the tangible assets. Therefore, the trial court could not increase the $58,000 value to $175,000 based on a higher value of the tangible assets.

To support the determination of the $175,000 value, the trial court added $117,000 to the husband’s $58,000 valuation. By doing so, the court considered the stream of future income and the greater than average revenues earned by the corporation. In In re Marriage of Courtright (1987), 155 Ill. App. 3d 55, 507 N.E.2d 891, and In re Marriage of Wilder (1983), 122 Ill. App. 3d 338, 461 N.E.2d 447, we held that the value of the tangible assets is a proper basis for valuation of a medical practice.

Both cases also held that section 503(d) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (hereinafter the Act) requires the court, among other things, to consider the sources of income and earning power of the spouses in apportioning the total marital assets between the parties. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 40, par. 503(d).) This does not justify the use of income twice on the same asset, namely, as a basis for its individual value and again in the apportionment of the total assets.

The legislature also provided for an award of maintenance under section 504 based on the future earning capacity of the parties. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 40, par. 504.) Based on the present and future disparity of earnings, the court also awarded the wife $216,000 as maintenance in gross to be paid over six years under certain conditions.

The wife contends that the value fixed by the trial court’s determination is correct. Since her husband’s expert fixed the value at $58,000 and her experts testified to a value of $515,000, the court’s value of $175,000 is within the “range of value” and must be affirmed. In support of her argument, she relies on In re Marriage of Melnick (1984), 127 Ill. App. 3d 102, 468 N.E.2d 490, and In re Marriage of Weinberg (1984), 125 Ill. App. 3d 904, 466 N.E.2d 925, appeal denied (1984), 101 Ill. 2d 578. These cases involve conflicting testimony of the value of existing tangible assets. In the case at bar, there is not any conflicting evidence of the value of the tangible assets of the professional corporation.

We therefore conclude that adding $117,000 to the value of the professional corporation awarded to the husband based upon a stream of future income was error because it results in a “double count” of potential future income by considering such income in both the valuation of the asset and considering it in apportioning the total marital assets and awarding maintenance.

II

The trial court awarded the wife maintenance in gross of $3,000 per month, commencing on December 1, 1985, for a period of six years. It is terminable only on the wife’s death, remarriage or cohabitation. The payments are nonmodifiable. Thus, the maximum cost to the husband would be $216,000. The court expressly considered the factors enumerated in section 504 of the Act. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 40, par. 504.

The husband contends that the award of maintenance was an abuse of discretion because the wife was self-sufficient. She is a registered nurse, real estate agent, and is presently pursuing an advanced business degree. The testimony clearly shows the annual income of both parties, their expenses, needs and lifestyles. The husband earned approximately $150,000 to $160,000 per year. The wife earned $17,165 in 1983 and $15,901 in 1984. Her average salary for the previous 10 years was approximately $12,000 per year.

The husband suggests that the wife sell the marital residence, which was awarded to her as a marital asset, invest the net proceeds, and maintain herself with the income. A spouse is not required to sell her assets or impair her capital in order to generate income from which she can support herself in the manner enjoyed during the marriage. In re Marriage of Weinberg (1984), 125 Ill. App. 3d 904, 918, 466 N.E.2d 925, appeal denied (1984), 101 Ill. 2d 578.

In light of the earning potential, the ages of the parties, and the consideration by the court of the appropriate factors under the Act, the decision appears to be equitable under the circumstances and well within the trial court’s discretion.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

J.T.S. VS. S.R. (FM-14-1195-15, MORRIS COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2021
In re Marriage of Calk
2020 IL App (1st) 182512-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
In re Marriage of S.D.
2012 IL App (1st) 101876 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)
In Re Marriage of Vancura
825 N.E.2d 345 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2005)
In Re: Marriage of Bowlby
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003
In Re Carlson
211 B.R. 275 (N.D. Illinois, 1997)
In re Marriage of Blinderman
669 N.E.2d 687 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
In Re Marriage of Goldberg
668 N.E.2d 1104 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
In Re Marriage of Head
652 N.E.2d 1246 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1995)
In Re Marriage of Auriemma
648 N.E.2d 118 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1995)
In Re Marriage of Isaacs
632 N.E.2d 228 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
In Re Marriage of Lee
615 N.E.2d 1314 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
In Re Marriage of Tietz
605 N.E.2d 670 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
In Re Marriage of Vendredi
598 N.E.2d 961 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
Kothari v. Kothari
605 A.2d 750 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1992)
In Re Marriage of Nuechterlein
587 N.E.2d 21 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
In Re Marriage of Toth
586 N.E.2d 436 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
In re Marriage of Zirngibl
606 N.E.2d 1 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
523 N.E.2d 17, 168 Ill. App. 3d 697, 119 Ill. Dec. 549, 1988 Ill. App. LEXIS 378, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/head-v-head-illappct-1988.