Kirkland v. Kirkland

1971 OK 98, 488 P.2d 1222, 1971 Okla. LEXIS 316
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 27, 1971
Docket43212
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 1971 OK 98 (Kirkland v. Kirkland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kirkland v. Kirkland, 1971 OK 98, 488 P.2d 1222, 1971 Okla. LEXIS 316 (Okla. 1971).

Opinion

DAVISON, Vice Chief Justice.

Jan C. Kirkland (defendant below) appeals from a decree of divorce rendered in favor of Robert J. Kirkland (plaintiff below), complaining that the court erred in granting the divorce, and erred relative to the amount of the award of child support and alimony, and in the division of jointly acquired property. The parties will be referred to by their trial court designation.

Plaintiff’s alleged ground for divorce was incompatibility between plaintiff and defendant. Defendant denied plaintiff had any grounds for divorce and prayed the court to deny plaintiff a divorce.

The evidence shows that plaintiff and defendant were married September 24, 1951, and had been married almost 17 years when the trial was had in June, 1968. Three daughters were born of the marriage and their ages at the time of trial were 15, 12 and 4 years. Plaintiff and defendant were of different religious faiths prior to marriage and defendant joined plaintiff’s church.

Plaintiff is an employee of a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and had received yearly *1225 raises in his salary. His salary for 1967 was $14,000.00, and for 1968 (with raise) was $14,600.00. There is no evidence that either party had any separately owned property prior to the marriage. The testimony regarding the amount of plaintiffs salary remaining after all deductions is not exact or completely satisfactory. He stated that his salary after taxes was $1103.20 per month, and that there was a net of $890.00 per month after other deductions, including a deduction of 6% of his gross salary for deposit in a hank “thrift” program. Plaintiff’s 1967 gross income (per federal income tax return) was $18,192.52, of which $14,000.00 was salary, about $3000.00 was stock dividends, and the balance was stock capital gains.

In 1960 plaintiff had inherited stocks from his father having a value of about $86,000.00. The evidence shows that plaintiff kept and maintained these stocks, his sales and purchases of other stocks, and reinvestment of dividends and gains in stocks, separate from his salary. He stated that his salary was used for family expenses. He testified that none of his salary was invested in stocks. He said that $12,000.00 of the stock and income therefrom was used to defray medical expenses in connection with an illness of defendant. Also he used $6,000.00 from the stock account in 1963 for a down payment on a home. This home was sold in November, 1967, and about $5,000.00 of the approximate $9,000.00 received for the equity was reinvested in stocks. At the time of the trial the stocks had a current market value of $149,616.00, less a net margin loan of $36,138.00, leaving a value of $113,478.00.

The parties bought a new home in November or December, 1967, for $18,500.00, paying $3000.00 down, and having a mortgage balance of $15,593.00 at the time of trial. The payments on this mortgage, including insurance and taxes, were $141.00 per month (according to plaintiff) and $156.00 (according to defendant). The correct amount was not disclosed. The bank “thrift” account had $4,300.00 in contributions by plaintiff, and he had $2,350.00 cash value in life insurance policies.

The trial court granted a divorce to plaintiff on the grounds of incompatibility by reason of the fault of the defendant, awarded the custody and control of the three children to the defendant, and ordered plaintiff to pay $100.00 per month for support for each child. The decree awarded to defendant the home, subject to the mortgage, the household furniture and furnishings (valued by plaintiff at $7,000.-00 replacement cost), a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass automobile (value by plaintiff, $3,000.00), and the sum of $8,000.00 (to be paid September 1, 1968) which the court stated took into consideration the -amount accumulated in the bank “thrift” fund, cash value of life insurance, and appreciation in the stocks or money invested in stock from joint earnings. The court also awarded defendant $15,000.00 as alimony, payable $300.00 per month.

The plaintiff was awarded a 1967 Ford Thunderbird automobile (valued by plaintiff at $4,000.00), the “thrift” plan fund and life insurance policies, and the corporate stocks and two men’s diamond rings “which the plaintiff acquired by inheritance.” Although not mentioned in the decree, the court at the time of rendition of the decree orally stated additional conditions of the divorce. These are apparently recognized by the parties. They are, that defendant shall pay the house payments, and that plaintiff will pay a $6,500.00 balance of a note debt to a bank (originally borrowed to buy the two automobiles) and $928.60 due for new carpeting and a dishwasher installed in the recently acquired home.

Defendant urges that the court erred in granting a divorce to plaintiff for incompatibility by reason of the fault of the defendant.

This proposition is based upon defendant’s contention that the incompatibility was caused by plaintiff drinking too much whiskey. Under the evidence this is *1226 related only to sexual incompatibility between the parties, and plaintiff admits that in some instances defendant’s refusal could have been because he was drinking. However, there is testimony that defendant had developed a strong interest in a Bible Study group and had become very critical of established church doctrines. Also, there is testimony that defendant had practically stopped attending social affairs with plaintiff. No useful purpose would be served in further detailing these matters. There is sufficient evidence to support the court’s finding that the parties were incompatible by reason of the fault of the defendant.

In Stuart v. Stuart, Okl., 433 P.2d 951, 954, we said that relative to an assertion that there was no competent evidence to support granting a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, it was only necessary to observe that under 12 O.S.1961, § 1271, and our decisions, it is only required that there be such a conflict of personalities as to destroy the legitimate ends of matrimony and possibility of a reconciliation.

Defendant contends that considering the circumstances and the plaintiff’s income and financial condition the award of $100.-00 per month for each child is too small.

We have held that the amount of the allowance of child support is a matter within the discretion of the trial court, governed by considerations of justice and equity, and that on appeal from a decree requiring the husband to contribute to the support of the children in the custody of the wife, this court will search the entire record, but will not change the amount of child support allowed by the trial court in the absence of a showing that the amount awarded is clearly against the weight of the evidence. Wendel v. Wendel, Okl., 331 P.2d 370, and West v. West, Okl., 268 P.2d 250.

From our search of the record it is our conclusion that the child support awarded herein is not clearly against the weight of the evidence, and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion.

Defendant also contends that the trial court did not make a fair and equitable division of property acquired by the joint industry of the parties and of the enhancement in value of the separate property of plaintiff resulting from the joint efforts of the parties.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1971 OK 98, 488 P.2d 1222, 1971 Okla. LEXIS 316, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirkland-v-kirkland-okla-1971.