Loyd Jeffrey Bowers v. Bethany A. Bowers

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 8, 2024
Docket2023 CA 000102
StatusUnknown

This text of Loyd Jeffrey Bowers v. Bethany A. Bowers (Loyd Jeffrey Bowers v. Bethany A. Bowers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loyd Jeffrey Bowers v. Bethany A. Bowers, (Ky. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

RENDERED: FEBRUARY 9, 2024; 10:00 A.M. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals NO. 2023-CA-0102-MR

LOYD JEFFREY BOWERS APPELLANT

APPEAL FROM CAMPBELL CIRCUIT COURT v. FAMILY DIVISION HONORABLE RICHARD A. WOESTE, JUDGE ACTION NO. 20-CI-00812

BETHANY A. BOWERS APPELLEE

OPINION AFFIRMING

** ** ** ** **

BEFORE: ACREE, GOODWINE, AND JONES, JUDGES.

GOODWINE, JUDGE: Loyd Jeffrey Bowers (Husband) appeals from the

Campbell Family Court’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, and orders entered

in the dissolution of his marriage to Bethany A. Bowers, now Sabota (Wife).

Husband argues that the family court abused its discretion in awarding Wife maintenance, attorney fees, and only 12% of the marital debt.1 After careful

review, finding no error, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Husband and Wife were married on September 6, 2003, in West

Chester, Ohio. They did not have any minor children. Wife petitioned the family

court for the dissolution of their marriage on October 28, 2020. They separated on

December 29, 2020. At the time of the final hearing in June 2022, Husband was

sixty-seven years old, and Wife was fifty-four. Throughout the marriage, Husband

was the higher-earning spouse. At the time of the final hearing, Husband was

employed as the Vice President of Western Operations and Business Management

for PermaFix and had been employed there for 5.5 years.

Husband’s gross annual salary was $230,000, and his average net pay

was $14,579 per month. Husband was eligible to receive annual bonuses based on

company performance. In 2021, Husband received bonuses totaling approximately

$40,000. Husband testified he used his bonuses to pay off a small business loan of

about $25,000. Husband is eligible to receive Social Security benefits but has

elected not to draw Social Security.

1 Appellant’s Brief at 14. Once the family court determined that the only marital debt was the parties’ tax debt and costs associated therewith, the family court awarded Wife 15% of the marital debt, not 12%. Record (R.) at 274.

-2- Wife previously worked in real estate, but due to health-related issues,

left that position. Wife was not employed from October 2020 until October 2021.

In October 2021, Wife began working at a children’s hospital earning $21.67 per

hour. She voluntarily quit her job in early January 2022 and remained unemployed

for several months. Subsequently, Wife obtained a job making $20 per hour,

working 40 hours per week remotely for a temporary service doing administrative

work. At the time of the June 2022 trial, Wife testified that her gross annual

income was $41,600.

Wife alleged that she needed $5,000 per month in maintenance from

Husband to meet her reasonable needs. When added to her earning potential of

$3,756 per month2 her total monthly budget would be approximately $8,756 per

month. Per Wife’s budget that she filed with her Final Disclosure, she testified she

needs $5,379 per month to meet her expenses. The family court found this to be a

significant reduction from her prior budget of $9,180 which she utilized for the

temporary maintenance reduction hearing. The family court found Wife’s gross

earning capacity to be roughly $3,500 per month. Her net is $3,024 per month.

Wife perceived an estimated shortfall of $2,347 per month to meet her expenses.

On May 25, 2021, the family court ordered Husband to pay Wife

$7,500 per month as temporary spousal maintenance. On July 28, 2021, Husband

2 This total was calculated using an hourly rate of $21.67 per hour, 40 hours per week.

-3- filed a motion to reduce his monthly maintenance obligation. Husband paid Wife

$7,500 per month as temporary spousal maintenance from May through September

2021; in October 2021, he paid only $4,800; in November 2021 he paid only

$1,400; and in December 2021 he paid only $2,000. Husband testified that he

believed he could contribute $1,500 to $2,500 per month to spousal maintenance

for Wife. On March 4, 2022, the family court retroactively modified Husband’s

temporary maintenance obligation to $2,500 per month effective October 2021.

During the pendency of the dissolution proceedings, Husband

relocated to Walnut Creek, California, for work. He testified his income did

increase from $194,000 to $230,000 because of the move; however, according to

Husband, that increase was only to account for the cost-of-living disparity between

living in the tri-state area versus living in California. The family court reviewed

Husband’s 2022 paystubs and found his average net pay was $14,579 per month.

Wife continued to reside in the parties’ marital residence in Newport,

Kentucky, until it was ordered sold on March 25, 2021. The net proceeds from the

sale were equally divided, and each party received approximately $62,000. After

the marital residence was sold, Wife rented an apartment for approximately $3,000

per month. When Husband ceased paying the full amount of his temporary

maintenance obligation in October 2021, Wife utilized half of the sale proceeds to

-4- pay rent and cover her living expenses. When the lease expired on Wife’s rental in

May 2022, she moved in with her parents.

Husband utilized his half of the sale proceeds to make a down

payment on a condominium in Walnut Creek, California. Before purchasing the

condominium, Husband lived in two separate rental properties in California.

Husband’s monthly housing payment after purchasing the condominium was

$3,781, which was a significant increase from what he paid in rent. The family

court found that as of the date of trial, Husband had $45,000 in equity in his

California condominium.

The family court found the parties’ marital assets included real estate

located in Newport, Kentucky, and Walnut Creek, California. The family court

awarded Husband the $45,000 equity in the California condominium, finding that

he used half of the proceeds from the sale of the Newport, Kentucky, property, and

a loan he took out from his 401K to assist with the down payment for the Walnut

Creek, California condominium.

Wife had a 2017 Mercedes GLA with a value of $29,024 and with

debt attached of $25,846. Husband had a 2018 Audi Q3 with a value of $22,500

and with a debt attached of $22,966.28. Husband had a $114,161.29 401K Plan.

Husband took a loan out on the 401K Plan. The parties agreed that the 401K

should be divided equally as if the loan had not been taken out by Husband.

-5- Husband also owned 1,400 shares of stock with an approximate value of $18,000.

The parties agreed to equally divide said stock. The parties agreed that each would

retain any property currently in their possession.

As far as debts, Wife testified that she had the following credit card

debt: Macy’s, $700; Ann Taylor, $1,300; J Crew, $1,300; and Banana Republic,

$2,304.25. Husband testified he had debt as follows: Best Egg, $5,866; American

Express, $28,000; Key Business, $14,000; General Electric, $9,000; and tax debt

of $8,174 and $1,900 for tax prep. Each party testified that the other was

responsible for a portion of their credit card debt. The family court disagreed.

Following the final hearing, the family court issued its Findings of

Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decree of Dissolution. The family court ordered

Husband to pay Wife spousal maintenance of $3,300 per month for a period of five

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