In re the Marriage of Monslow

900 P.2d 249, 21 Kan. App. 2d 386, 1995 Kan. App. LEXIS 120
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJuly 28, 1995
DocketNo. 72,721
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 900 P.2d 249 (In re the Marriage of Monslow) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas 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 Monslow, 900 P.2d 249, 21 Kan. App. 2d 386, 1995 Kan. App. LEXIS 120 (kanctapp 1995).

Opinion

Lewis, J.:

Vincent and Linda Monslow were married in 1981. One child was bom to the marriage. They were divorced in 1992. Vincent appeals from the trial court’s order regarding maintenance, properly division, child visitation, and a laundry list of 17 other decisions made by the trial court.

We affirm.

The facts will be developed as needed as we deal with the issues raised on appeal.

MAINTENANCE

Vincent is an attorney and a member of the Blackwood Lang-worthy law firm. Linda was also employed at the time of the divorce. As we often see in cases of this nature, Linda apparently worked during Vincent’s years in law school to support the couple and assist her husband in completing his law degree.

At about the time of the divorce, Vincent had just emerged from the dissolution of his old law firm and started practice with the firm [387]*387noted above. Vincent’s average income was $4,227 per month over the last 11 months prior to trial. Linda’s yearly income was $24,000. Her income the year previous to the divorce was $36,000 with the same employer.

The trial court ordered Vincent to pay $450 per month in basic maintenance based on Vincent’s average monthly income and on Linda’s needs. This was to be paid for a period of 48 months. In addition to the basic maintenance, the trial court ordered Vincent to pay, on a quarterly basis, 20 percent of any gross income he received above his average monthly income of $4,227. The amount paid under this escalator clause was deemed by the trial court to be “additional maintenance.”

Vincent first argues that the trial court abused its discretion in its award of basic maintenance in the amount of $450 per month. We do not agree.

The factors required to be taken into consideration on an award of maintenance are set out in K.S.A. 60-1610(b)(2) and need not be repeated in this opinion. Our Supreme Court has said:

“There is no fixed rule on the subject and the district court in a divorce action is vested with wide discretion in adjusting the financial obligations of the parties. Thus, its exercise of that discretion will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of a showing of clear abuse.” Williams v. Williams, 219 Kan. 303, 306, 548 P.2d 794 (1976).

Our standard of review on abuse of discretion is well known and need not be repeated. See In re Marriage of Cray, 254 Kan. 376, 387, 867 P.2d 291 (1994).

We have carefully reviewed the record and considered Vincent’s complaints that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding basic maintenance. We do not agree. The award is supported by the evidence and the dictates of K.S.A. 60-1610(b)(2). It does not overpass the “bounds of reason and justice” in any sense. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the award of basic maintenance in this action.

Vincent contends that the “additional maintenance” awarded in this case is not permitted under Kansas law. He argues that the “internal escalator clause” utilized by the trial court is not valid in Kansas. This appears to be an issue of first impression in this state.

[388]*388Our research reveals at least three appellate decisions in which an internal escalator clause has been contained in a maintenance award. Unfortunately, none of these decisions involves the issue raised in this appeal, and they are not relevant to our decision. See Johnson v. Johnson, 219 Kan. 190, 547 P.2d 360 (1976); Miller v. Miller, 209 Kan. 290, 496 P.2d 1343 (1972); Beard v. Beard, 5 Kan. App. 2d 458, 618 P.2d 856, rev. denied 229 Kan. 669 (1980).

Professor Elrod, in her Kansas Family Law Handbook, has discussed the validity of escalator clauses:

“Whether an alimony escalator clause may be tied to inflation depends on the jurisdiction. The trend, however, is to recognize these clauses. Courts justify cost of living increase clauses on the basis that they minimize the risks of yearly battles and result in reduced legal costs. If the parties can tie their increases to a recognized index, i.e. cost of living or consumer-price, inflation does not erode maintenance awards. In Kansas, the judge cannot decree maintenance to raise beyond the amount stated in the original decree. However, the parties, in a separation agreement, could insert an escalation clause.” 1 Elrod, Kansas Family Law Handbook § 10.065, p. 10-40 (rev. ed. 1990).

Professor Elrod appears to conclude that a maintenance escalator clause cannot be utilized by a trial court in this state. We do not agree with that interpretation.

In those states which have considered the issue, there is a split of authority. The different perspectives on the issue can be viewed by reading the annotation in 19 A.L.R.4th 830.

Obviously, Vincent urges us to adopt the approach taken by those states which have disapproved the trial court’s use of an escalator clause in awarding maintenance. He argues that such a clause does not take into consideration the basic factors required, including Linda’s need and his ability to pay. He further contends that this type of clause permits the automatic modification of a maintenance award without the necessary notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

In the final analysis, we view the validity of the clause in question to be largely parochial. It must be decided not on the basis of a broad philosophical theory but on the strict basis of what the Kansas statutes do and do not permit. As a result, we do not view the decisions of our sister states as carrying great significance.

[389]*389K.S.A. 60-1610(b)(2) states in pertinent part: “Maintenance may be in a lump sum, in periodic payments, on a percentage of earnings or on any other basis.” (Emphasis added.)

The term “any other basis” offers broad support to any reasonable formula employed by a trial court in awarding maintenance. It would appear to permit the use of any formula deemed reasonable under the circumstances. Accordingly, we hold that the Kansas statute does permit the reasonable use of an escalator clause in ordering maintenance. The standard by which we should judge the validity of such a clause is one of abuse of discretion. The use of such a clause is consistent with the overall nature of and philosophy behind an award of maintenance. In this case, the trial court recognized the growth potential of Vincent’s income and tied a percentage of his maintenance obligation to that growth potential. This is not an unreasonable approach and takes into consideration such factors as a single large fee being suddenly injected into Vincent’s income.

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Related

In Re Marriage of Perkel
963 S.W.2d 445 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1998)
In re the Marriage of Monslow
912 P.2d 735 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
900 P.2d 249, 21 Kan. App. 2d 386, 1995 Kan. App. LEXIS 120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-marriage-of-monslow-kanctapp-1995.