In re Marriage of William

2021 IL App (5th) 190440-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 22, 2021
Docket5-19-0440
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2021 IL App (5th) 190440-U (In re Marriage of William) 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
In re Marriage of William, 2021 IL App (5th) 190440-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

2021 IL App (5th) 190440-U NOTICE NOTICE Decision filed 06/22/21. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NO. 5-19-0440 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to not precedent except in the the filing of a Peti ion for IN THE limited circumstances allowed Rehearing or the disposition of under Rule 23(e)(1). the same. APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________

In re MARRIAGE OF ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of WILLIAM EDWARD PARKER, ) Monroe County. ) Petitioner-Appellant, ) ) and ) No. 10-D-67 ) SHELLY GAYE REICHERT, ) Honorable ) Thomas B. Cannady, Respondent-Appellee. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE BARBERIS delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Wharton and Vaughan ∗ concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in modifying, rather than terminating, petitioner’s maintenance obligation based on petitioner’s early retirement at age 62; however, we vacate the amount of maintenance awarded and remand for the entry of a new order clarifying the amount of imputed income for purposes of calculating maintenance and addressing whether it is appropriate to impute income to petitioner past his normal retirement age of 65.

¶2 Petitioner, William E. Parker (Eddy), filed, in the circuit court of Monroe County, a

petition to terminate or, alternatively, modify the monthly maintenance that he had been ordered

to pay respondent, Shelly G. Reichert, pursuant to a previously entered judgment of dissolution.

∗ Justice Overstreet was originally assigned to participate in this case. Justice Vaughan was substituted on the panel after Justice Overstreet ascended to the Illinois Supreme Court and has read the briefs and listened to the oral argument recording. 1 Following a hearing, the court entered an order modifying Eddy’s monthly maintenance

obligation from $3000 to $1555.75. Eddy filed a motion to reconsider, which the court denied.

Eddy appeals, arguing that the court abused its discretion by reducing, rather than terminating,

his monthly maintenance obligation and, alternatively, in calculating the reduced amount of

monthly maintenance. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand

with directions.

¶3 I. Background

¶4 In 1981, Eddy, 26, and Shelly, 18, were married. Throughout their marriage, Eddy was

employed by Ameren as a lineman, and Shelly was a self-employed hair stylist. The marriage

produced two children: Ashley (born October 18, 1987) and Taylor (born March 27, 1989). In

2008, after both children had reached the age of 18, Eddy and Shelly separated.

¶5 A. Dissolution Proceedings

¶6 In 2010, Eddy, 55, filed a petition for dissolution of marriage and, in 2011, Shelly, 47,

filed a counterpetition. The case was subsequently assigned to Judge Richard Aguirre for

disposition.

¶7 In April 2011, following a hearing on temporary issues, Judge Aguirre ordered Eddy to

pay Shelly temporary maintenance in the amount of $3000 per month. No transcript of the

hearing was included in the record certified to this court. Prior to the hearing, both parties filed

financial statements disclosing their monthly incomes, monthly expenses, and assets. Eddy’s

financial statement listed a net monthly income of $8202 (gross monthly income of $12,140 less

$3938 in deductions), along with monthly expenses totaling $2925 (Eddy’s monthly expenses of

$1925 plus the children’s monthly expenses of $1000). Eddy’s financial statement also listed the

following retirement assets: an Ameren SIP valued at $146,325; a Vanguard 401(k) valued at

2 $61,320; a National Electric Annuity valued at $2400; a union pension valued at $189 per month

at age 65; and an Ameren pension valued at $2750 per month at age 65. Shelly’s financial

statement listed a net monthly income of $1418.60 (gross monthly income of $2269.58 less

$850.98 in deductions), along with monthly expenses totaling $2416.78. Following the hearing,

Judge Aguirre ordered Eddy to pay Shelly temporary maintenance in the amount of $3000 per

month.

¶8 In October 2011, Judge Aguirre held a hearing on all remaining issues. No transcript of

the hearing was included in the record certified to this court. Prior to the hearing, both parties

filed amended financial and position statements. Eddy’s amended financial statement listed a net

monthly income of $8266 (gross monthly income of $12,433 less $4167 in deductions) and total

monthly expenses of $2014 (no children’s expenses). Eddy’s amended financial statement

revealed no change to the value of his Ameren and union pensions but slight increases to the

value of the remaining retirement assets. Specifically, the value of the Ameren SIP had increased

to $176,875.45, the value of the Vanguard 401(k) had increased to $63,523.59, and the value of

the National Electric Annuity had increased to $2681. Shelly’s amended financial statement

listed a reduced net monthly income of $420.06 (gross monthly income of $2278.10 less

$1858.04 in deductions) and total monthly expenses of $4225.64. Shelly’s amended financial

statement also listed the same retirement assets as Eddy’s amended financial statement, including

those with projected values at age 65.

¶9 In his position statement, Eddy asserted that Shelly should receive no more than $1000

per month in maintenance “plus 10% of [Eddy’s] net income of $99,192.00 per year,” which

represented his average net income over the past few years. According to Eddy, Shelly’s

amended financial statement, which listed a net income of approximately $1000 less than her

3 prior financial statement, did not include Shelly’s income from her other jobs. In her position

statement, Shelly requested permanent monthly maintenance in the amount of $4200 based on

the income and lifestyle of the parties, as well as her contribution to the marriage and failure to

achieve a viable career. Shelly claimed that Eddy had a nonmarital National Electric Annuity,

from which he would receive approximately $2681 per month at age 65. Shelly requested her

marital share of Eddy’s union and Ameren pensions, which would result in Eddy receiving

approximately $4135.50 per month at age 65. Shelly also noted that Eddy’s Ameren SIP and

401(k) plan had a cash value of approximately $240,399, and she requested 62% of the cash

accounts, or approximately $149,000.

¶ 10 In November 2011, Judge Aguirre entered a judgment of dissolution, dissolving Eddy

and Shelly’s 30-year marriage and dividing the parties’ marital property. The court awarded each

party the personal property currently in their possession and, additionally, awarded Eddy the

draw knife, pipe wrench, climbers (hooks), 20-gallon kettle, and bench vice located in the shed at

the marital residence. The court awarded 42% of the value of the remaining nonretirement

marital assets to Eddy, which totaled approximately $170,579 and included the following: (1) a

Commerce Brokerage account valued at $24,383; (2) a Stifel Nicolaus account valued at $120;

(3) a Utility Employees Credit Union account valued at $44,022; (4) a Commerce Bank

certificate of deposit valued at $40,000; (5) First Bank joint savings and checking accounts

valued at $14,778; (6) a Commerce Bank checking account valued at $32,431; (7) cash in the

amount of $10,000; and (8) guns valued at $4845.

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2021 IL App (5th) 190440-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-william-illappct-2021.