In re the Marriage of Jacobs

39 P.3d 251, 179 Or. App. 146, 2002 Ore. App. LEXIS 124
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJanuary 30, 2002
DocketDO 98-0480; A107959
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 39 P.3d 251 (In re the Marriage of Jacobs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Marriage of Jacobs, 39 P.3d 251, 179 Or. App. 146, 2002 Ore. App. LEXIS 124 (Or. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

EDMONDS, J.

Husband appeals from a judgment dissolving the parties’ 22-year marriage. ORS 107.105. He makes two assignments of error. First, he argues that the trial court erred when it held that wife rebutted the statutory presumption of equal contribution under ORS 107.105(1)(f) (1997) and declined to award him an equal share of the assets held in wife’s name. Additionally, husband argues that the trial court erred when it held that he was not entitled to spousal support. We review de novo and affirm.

At the time of trial, wife was 51 years old, and husband was 61 years old. The parties spent most of their married life in Florida. In 1996, wife moved to McMinnville. Although husband initially stated his intention to relocate to Oregon, he continued to divide his time between the two states after 1996, spending the majority of it in Florida. Before the marriage, the parties agreed to keep their finances separate, and their conduct throughout the marriage reflects that agreement. When wife would occasionally ask for money during the marriage, husband would remind her that it was her responsibility to pay expenses according to their agreement. During their married life, wife worked as a nurse, a nursing shift supervisor, and finally, as a chief nursing officer. Husband has installed carpet and tile for 35 years and has operated his own business in that regard or acted as a supervisor of carpet installations for others. He never informed wife of the amounts of money that he made from his work. Wife held her checking, savings and retirement accounts in her name alone. At the time of trial, husband apparently had no bank accounts in his name, nor was he a signatory on any of wife’s accounts. In previous years, he had his business checking accounts in his name only. The parties always filed separate income tax returns.

During the marriage, wife acquired a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, a Master of Science degree in nursing, and a Master of Business Administration degree. She acquired that education without financial assistance or any other contributions from husband. She also worked full time while enrolled in those educational programs. Neither [149]*149party assumed significant homemaking responsibilities during the marriage. They generally ate out rather than cooked at home. When they ate out together, they took turns paying the bill. Each party did his or her own laundry. Wife generally paid for their household expenses, including rent, mortgages, and utilities, and she hired a housekeeper to maintain their residences, whom she paid from her own earnings. When husband made home improvements, wife paid husband for those efforts.

During the marriage, wife purchased a residence in Florida, in her name only, from her own earnings. Later, she sold it and used the proceeds to purchase a residence, in her name only, in McMinnville. Husband did not join wife in either purchase. In the past, husband expressed to wife his distaste for the responsibilities of home ownership and instructed her that, if she bought real property, he wanted nothing to do with it.1 In addition, wife and husband owned and insured their vehicles separately throughout their marriage. Husband owned several boats during the marriage, which he held in his name only, or with individuals other than wife. At the time of the dissolution, wife owned two cars, one of which she had loaned to husband. He took that car to Florida without her permission. Husband claimed at trial to own no vehicles and to have no significant assets, although in the years leading up to the trial, he had informed wife of purchases of motor homes and trucks. We are not persuaded from this record that husband was candid with the trial court regarding the ownership of assets.

As to earning ability, husband claimed at trial to be unemployed. He testified that he could earn between $7 and $8 per hour supervising carpet installations. Wife testified that he worked steadily throughout their marriage. Wife earned about $99,000 a year, although she testified that she was planning to take a less demanding position within a few years. Husband, who is a Canadian citizen, will be eligible for a Canadian pension and social security after reaching 65 [150]*150years of age. The combined amount of those benefits appears to be between $300 and $350 per month. Wife has acquired multiple retirement accounts from her own earnings throughout the years that will provide her with a comfortable income upon her retirement. It appears that each party has supported himself or herself throughout the marriage with individual earnings, with the exception of housing expenses and gifts to husband from wife and others. Additionally, wife made a loan to husband in the 1980s to pay his debt to the Internal Revenue Service. Although husband has repaid part of the loan, the balance remained owing at the time of trial. In their last year of cohabitation, wife gave husband a gift of $10,000, so that he could begin retirement planning, and $150 in spending money on at least one occasion.

The trial court concluded that wife had rebutted the presumption of equal contribution under ORS 107.105(1)(f) (1997) and that the assets should be divided according to each party’s contribution. Accordingly, it awarded all of the assets in wife’s name to wife, and any assets in husband’s name to husband.2 Essentially, that meant that husband did not receive any of the assets that were identified at trial as marital assets. Additionally, it entered a money judgment in wife’s favor to compensate her for jewelry and antique furniture that husband had pawned without her permission. It also rejected husband’s claim for spousal support.

On appeal, husband argues:

“Insofar as this dissolution involved a long term 22-year marriage that was not a sham, and insofar as husband and wife lived together in the same residences and enjoyed intimacy and contributed financially to the household — each according to their means — as well as made major decisions together concerning such things as moving and purchasing a home, the trial court erred when it found that the presumption of equitable contribution was rebutted by the wife in this case — and then erred again when the trial court effectively went on to award 100 percent of the marital assets to wife.
[151]*151“In addition, given that (1) husband is 61 years old, (2) the long length of the 22[-year] marriage during which husband’s financial needs were met by the wife without her ever requesting contribution from husband, (3) husband can no longer perform the labor intensive job of carpet laying he is trained for, (4) the significant difference between the parties’ earning capacities both in the past and in the present, and (5) in no way is husband able to support himself without spousal support at a level that would even come close to the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, husband is entitled to spousal support.”

As pertinent here, ORS 107.105(1)(f) (1997) provided:

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In re the Marriage of Christensen
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
39 P.3d 251, 179 Or. App. 146, 2002 Ore. App. LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-marriage-of-jacobs-orctapp-2002.