Madden v. Madden

923 N.W.2d 688
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 4, 2019
DocketA18-0505
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 923 N.W.2d 688 (Madden v. Madden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Madden v. Madden, 923 N.W.2d 688 (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

And in paragraph 26b of the dissolution decree, the dissolution court found as follows:

[Judy] is capable of obtaining employment as an accounting clerk, billing clerk, customer service representative, and general office clerk, within a three month period to allow her time to learn the Microsoft Office Suite. She can earn $14.28 per hour, or $29,702 per year. [Judy] is a bright woman who is capable of acquiring fresh credentials in the accounting field designed to update and advance her skill level. With a two-year *694education commitment either at the baccalaureate or graduate level, she could expect to earn $43,534 to $50,419 per year. [Judy] is capable of becoming partially self-supporting.

The dissolution court also found, in paragraph 26c of the dissolution decree, that Mark's and Judy's reasonable monthly expenses, exclusive of expenses related to their children, were $10,703 and $8,500, respectively. After considering additional statutory factors, the dissolution court ordered Mark to pay Judy $10,000 per month in permanent spousal maintenance.

In June 2017, Mark moved to modify his spousal-maintenance obligation. Mark asked the district court to terminate his spousal-maintenance obligation or, in the alternative, to reduce it. He introduced evidence that his income had decreased as a result of health problems, which required him to sell a 50-percent interest in his dental practice and to reduce his workload by 30 percent. Judy did not attempt to rebut Mark's evidence of decreased income. Mark argued that the district court should consider Judy's ability to earn income through full-time employment, even though she then was unemployed. Disputes arose concerning Mark's efforts to engage in discovery concerning Judy's financial assets and investment income. A motion hearing was rescheduled after Judy's counsel failed to appear. The district court conducted a hearing on Mark's motion at which it granted Mark leave to take Judy's deposition. After the hearing, Mark submitted a transcript of Judy's deposition, in which Judy testified that she had not pursued additional education or vocational training since the dissolution decree and did not believe that she had an obligation to do so.

In February 2018, the district court granted Mark's motion to modify spousal maintenance. With respect to Mark's income, the district court found that his salary had been reduced by 30 percent (from $265,000 to $185,500) and that his income from the profits of his dental practice had been reduced by 50 percent (from $197,119 to $98,560). With respect to Judy's earning capacity, the district court found that she "remains unemployed" but "has not presented sufficient evidence that she is not able-bodied and not capable of employment."

The district court further found that Judy "has failed to make a reasonable effort to obtain employment." Accordingly, the district court found that Judy's "potential earned income" is $50,419 "based on Finding of Fact 26(b) of the Judgment and Decree," and the district court attributed that amount of employment income to her.

The district court also found that Judy receives $27,887 in investment income per year based on an assumed rate of return of four percent on the investment assets that were awarded to her in the dissolution decree. The district court further found that Judy's reasonable monthly expenses are $8,500, which was the amount of her reasonable expenses in 2012 that were not child-related. The district court found that Mark's reasonable monthly expenses are $10,703, which was the amount of his reasonable expenses in 2012 that were not child-related.

Based on the findings described above, as well as a spreadsheet prepared by an expert retained by Mark, the district court reduced the spousal-maintenance award from $10,000 per month to $4,785 per month. The district court also granted Mark's motion for conduct-based attorney fees and awarded him $10,000 in attorney fees. Judy appeals.

ISSUES

I. Did the district court err by modifying the award of permanent spousal maintenance *695by reducing it from $10,000 per month to $4,785 per month?

II. Did the district court err by awarding Mark conduct-based attorney fees in the amount of $10,000?

ANALYSIS

I.

Judy argues that the district court erred by granting Mark's motion to modify the award of permanent spousal maintenance by reducing it from $10,000 per month to $4,785 per month. She challenges the district court's modification on three grounds, which we discuss below.

Spousal maintenance is defined by statute to mean "payments from the future income or earnings of one spouse for the support and maintenance of the other." Minn. Stat. § 518.003, subd. 3a (2018). If a party requests spousal maintenance, a district court must engage in a two-step analysis. First, a district court must consider whether the spouse seeking spousal maintenance either

(a) lacks sufficient property, including marital property apportioned to the spouse, to provide for reasonable needs of the spouse considering the standard of living established during the marriage, especially, but not limited to, a period of training or education, or
(b) is unable to provide adequate self-support, after considering the standard of living established during the marriage and all relevant circumstances, through appropriate employment, or is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it appropriate that the custodian not be required to seek employment outside the home.

Minn. Stat. § 518.552, subd. 1 (2018). This threshold inquiry asks, in essence, whether the party seeking spousal maintenance has demonstrated a "showing of need." Curtis v. Curtis , 887 N.W.2d 249, 252 (Minn. 2016). A party demonstrates a need for spousal maintenance if, considering the standard of living during the marriage, the party is unable to provide for his or her reasonable expenses through employment income or investment income or a combination of both. See Minn. Stat. § 518.552, subd. 1 ; Curtis , 887 N.W.2d at 252.

Second, if a party demonstrates a need for spousal maintenance, the district court may award spousal maintenance "in amounts and for periods of time, either temporary or permanent, as the court deems just, ... after considering all relevant factors." Minn. Stat. § 518.552, subd. 2 ; see also Erlandson v. Erlandson ,

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Bluebook (online)
923 N.W.2d 688, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/madden-v-madden-minnctapp-2019.