In Re Marriage of Ramer

187 Cal. App. 3d 263, 231 Cal. Rptr. 647, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 2251
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 24, 1986
DocketE001660
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 187 Cal. App. 3d 263 (In Re Marriage of Ramer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Marriage of Ramer, 187 Cal. App. 3d 263, 231 Cal. Rptr. 647, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 2251 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Opinion

KAUFMAN, J.

This is the second time this marital dissolution case has come before this court. Sadly, we observe the trial court has repeated and indeed exacerbated the abuses of discretion disclosed on the first appeal. The result is a continuing miscarriage of justice of which we have seldom seen the like.

On wife’s first appeal we reversed the judgment in several respects and remanded the case to the trial court with directions to make certain determinations and appropriate orders. After a new trial limited to the issues *268 specified in our dispositional order, wife again appeals, contending: (1) she was entitled to a statement of decision and the statement issued by the trial court was inadequate; (2) the increase in the spousal support award from $550 per month to $900 per month was inadequate; (3) the trial court abused its discretion in permitting husband to pay off the arrearage on spousal support at the rate of $100 per month; (4) the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to hear wife’s order to show cause for increased spousal support, child support and attorney’s fees; (5) the trial court erred in refusing to permit wife to show she was entitled to a separate property credit of $5,800 against the family residence; (6) the court erred in ordering a payment of $5,066.62 to husband as an equalization payment upon sale of the family residence; (7) the court’s order with respect to husband’s civil service pension was erroneous and incomplete and the trial court should have divided the community property by awarding the family residence to wife and the husband’s pension to husband with appropriate adjustments; and (8) the court erred in refusing to permit wife to produce evidence about various insurance policies and about a $10,000 loan she alleges was taken out by husband shortly before separation.

Background Facts

The parties were married on August 22, 1959, and separated after about 22 years of marriage on June 18, 1981. There are four children of the marriage, two of whom were still minors at the time of the original trial on April 21 and July 9, 1982: Mary Shannon Ramer, born September 8, 1964, and Joseph Benjamin Ramer, born October 13, 1969. The original judgment filed September 20, 1982, ordered husband to pay $300 per month child support for each of the two children. However, Mary became 18 years of age on September 8, 1982, at which time child support for her terminated, so the child support order contained in the judgment was obsolete on the date it was issued.

On or about November 24, 1982, it was stipulated by the parties that husband would keep the children named on his group medical coverage through his employment so long as it was available and they were eligible for coverage. Subsequently, in about May 1985, in response to an order to show cause for child support, spousal support and attorney fees pending the present appeal, the monthly child support for Joseph was increased to $450 per month and has thereafter remained at that figure.

Joseph has a learning disability and as of April 1984 needed remedial schooling costing $247 per month. Wife included this expense as one of her expenses in her income and expense declaration dated September 14, 1984, submitted in connection with the trial on remand following the first appeal.

*269 In 1963, approximately four years after the marriage, husband commenced employment as a federal civil service employee and has been so employed continuously ever since. As a federal employee husband is a participant in the federal civil service retirement program on account of which he is required to make monthly contributions from his pay. As of June 13, 1981, five days before the parties’ separation, the contributions to the retirement system from husband’s pay amounted to $28,356.60. Husband does not become eligible for longevity retirement until he reaches the age of 554 years, sometime in 1993. In the judgment following the original trial, the trial court declined to characterize, value or dispose of the federal civil service retirement rights. On remand the trial court determined that eighteen years, four months and seven days of husband’s federal civil service employment were during the marriage and that the community property interest in retirement benefits should be calculated on that basis. However, the court declined presently to value the retirement rights and either to award the retirement benefits to husband with an offsetting award of the family residence to wife or to make any division of the retirement benefits.

At the time of the original trial the family residence was being occupied by wife, the two minor children and one or more of the parties’ adult children. The court determined its value to be $80,000, subject to encumbrances consisting of first and second trust deeds having unpaid balances of $18,650 and $8,334.21, respectively, for a net value of approximately $53,000. The monthly payments on the two trust deeds totaled $517.90. The original judgment of September 20, 1982, gave wife the exclusive use of the family residence until October 1, 1982, but required that she make the first and second trust deed payments and that she pay the taxes and insurance. It provided the residence was to be sold and the net proceeds divided equally after the payment to husband of a sum equalizing the division of the community property unless wife should purchase husband’s interest for $26,000 cash by October 1, 1982, or failing that, unless husband should purchase wife’s interest at the same price within 30 days after October 1, 1982. The judgment on remand extended wife’s right to occupy the family residence until Joseph reaches the age of 18, but thereupon the court ordered the residence sold and the net proceeds divided equally except that husband should first be paid $5,066.62 plus interest to equalize the division of the community property.

At the time of the original trial, husband had a gross monthly income of $3,881 and was paying federal income taxes of $1,008, state income taxes, of $288, monthly retirement contributions of $271.71, and insurance (presumably medical) of $91.71, for a net disposable income of $2,221.99. By contrast, wife had not been gainfully employed during the marriage and was not employed at the time of separation or at the time of trial. Although *270 wife had nearly completed a four-year college education, the record indicated she possessed no special skills or training that would qualify her for remunerative employment and there was evidence she was not in good health. On those facts the court awarded wife the sum of $550 per month spousal support in the interlocutory judgment out of which she was ordered to pay the monthly installments on the trust deeds on the house in the amount of $517.90 together with the real property taxes and insurance premiums. On the first appeal we held: “Under these circumstances an award to wife of only $550 per month spousal support is unconscionable, particularly in light of the fact that spousal support husband is ordered to pay will be deductible from his income for income tax purposes. (See In re Marriage of Rosan [(1972)] 24 Cal.App.3d [885,] 894-895 [101 Cal.Rptr. 295]; see also In re Marriage of Andreen [(1978)] 76 Cal. App.3d [667,] 671-672 [143 Cal.Rptr. 94].)”

The trial on remand was had on October 9, 1984.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
187 Cal. App. 3d 263, 231 Cal. Rptr. 647, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 2251, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-ramer-calctapp-1986.