McDaniel v. McDaniel

171 So. 3d 38, 2015 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 1, 2015 WL 132441
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJanuary 9, 2015
Docket2130560
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 171 So. 3d 38 (McDaniel v. McDaniel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDaniel v. McDaniel, 171 So. 3d 38, 2015 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 1, 2015 WL 132441 (Ala. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

THOMPSON, Presiding Judge.

Saleta Gay McDaniel (“the wife”) and Steven Ray McDaniel were married in 1998; no children were born of the parties’ marriage. On March 11, 2013, the wife filed a complaint in the Cherokee Circuit Court (“the trial court”) seeking a divorce; in her complaint, the wife alleged, among other things, that the husband had committed adultery. The wife sought an equitable division of the parties’ marital prop: erty and an award of periodic alimony.

On March 12, 2013, the trial court entered an order restraining the parties from harassing each other and enjoining them from disposing of marital property. On April 5, 2013, after receiving ore tenus evidence, the trial court entered an order setting forth the manner in which the parties were to divide expenses pertaining to the marital home during the pendency of the action and to divide the payment toward the indebtedness incurred during the marriage. Each party later filed motions seeking to have the other held in contempt.

The trial court conducted an ore tenus hearing. On December 27, 2013, the trial court entered a judgment divorcing the parties. In its divorce judgment, the trial court fashioned a property division, denied the wife’s request for an award of periodic alimony, and denied all other requested relief. It its judgment, the trial court found, among other things, that the wife’s testimony had not been credible and that her actions during the pendency of the divorce action had “constitute[d] a significant fraud.” The wife filed a post-judgment motion, and the trial court denied that motion. The wife timely appealed.

The wife argues that the trial court erred in its division of the marital property and by failing to award, or to reserve ruling on the issue of, alimony. With regard to reviewing a trial court’s determinations as to property division and alimony, this court has stated:

“ ‘When the trial court fashions a property division following the presentation of ore tenus evidence, its judgment as to that evidence is presumed correct on appeal and will not be reversed absent a showing that the trial court exceeded its discretion or that its decision is plainly and palpably wrong. Roberts v. Roberts, 802 So.2d 230, 235 (Ala.Civ.App.2001); Parrish v. Parrish, 617 So.2d 1036, 1038 (Ala.Civ.App.1993); and Hall v. Mazzone, 486 So.2d 408, 410 (Ala.1986). A property division is required to be equitable, not equal, and a determination of what is equitable rests within the broad discretion of the trial court. Parrish, 617 So.2d at 1038.’

“Stone v. Stone, 26 So.3d 1232, 1236 (Ala.Civ.App.2009).

“ ‘The issues of property division and alimony are interrelated, and they must be considered together. Albertson v. Albertson, 678 So.2d 118 (Ala. Civ.App.l99[5]). A property division is not required to be equal, but it must be equitable. Golden v. Golden, 681 So.2d 605 (Ala.Civ.App.1996). In fashioning a property division and an award of alimony, the trial court must consider factors such as the earning capacities of the parties; their future prospects; their ages and health; the length of the parties’ marriage; and the source, value, and type of marital property. Robinson v. Robinson, [795 [40]*40So.2d 729 (Ala.Civ.App.2001) ]; Lutz v. Lutz, 485 So.2d 1174 (Ala.Civ.App.1986). In addition, the trial court may also consider the conduct of the parties with regard to the breakdown of the marriage.... Ex parte Drummond, 785 So.2d 358 (Ala.2000); Myrick v. Myrick, 714 So.2d 311 (Ala.Civ. App.1998); Lutz v. Lutz, supra.’
“Pate v. Pate, 849 So.2d 972, 976 (Ala. Civ.App.2002).”

Spuhl v. Spuhl, 120 So.3d 1071, 1075 (Ala.Civ.App.2013).

The evidence in the record indicates that the parties were married for 15 years. The wife is disabled as a result of an on-the-job accident. In January 2006, the wife received a workers’ compensation settlement of approximately $120,000, and she stated that she invested that money in the construction of the marital home. It is undisputed that the wife is totally disabled; she receives $1,079 per month in Social Security disability benefits. The wife testified that her medications cost $179 each month.

The parties presented evidence indicating that, in 2006, the then newly constructed marital home was valued at approximately $320,000. The husband testified that the marital home was valued at $240,000 at the time of the final hearing and that it was subject to a $220,000 mortgage. The parties obtained government-assisted refinancing of the indebtedness on the marital home during the pendency of the divorce action. The parties were attempting to sell the marital home at the time of the divorce hearing, and the husband testified that the asking price for the home was $240,000.

The husband worked as a plumber during the parties’ marriage. Three years before the divorce hearing, the husband started his own plumbing business. The husband was vague in answering questions about his income, insisting that he did not know how much money he earned and stating that business was down because of a bad economy and that his monthly income fluctuated. The husband insisted that he reported 99% of his income to the Internal Revenue Service, and he disputed the wife’s allegations that he was often paid in cash and did not report the income on the parties’ federal income-tax returns. On their federal joint income-tax returns, the parties reported $7,089 in income in 2010, $1,233 in income in 2011, and a $79 negative income in 2012.

The husband failed to respond to discovery requests for his banking records, and the wife presented evidence indicating that, in one month in late 2012, the husband had deposits of more than $7,000. The bank records also indicate that, in 2012, the husband deposited $59,000 into a bank account, but he stated that $52,000 was spent on business expenses, not including the depreciation of assets. The husband also admitted that the parties’ monthly mortgage payment was $1,700, or $20,400 annually; he stated that he did not know how the parties paid their mortgage given the amount of income he claimed at the time of the hearing.

The parties agreed that, four years before their separation, the husband had an affair with Wendy Woodall but that the parties had reconciled. The husband stated that, after that affair, the parties were “more like roommates.” In February 2013, Woodall contacted the husband, and the husband admitted that they began “speaking” at that time. The husband stated that he informed the wife that he wanted a divorce in late February 2013. The parties separated on March 7, 2013. It is undisputed that the husband moved into a home with Woodall immediately following the parties’ separation. The wife alleged adultery in seeking the divorce, [41]*41arguing that the husband’s relationship with Woodall caused the breakdown of the marriage. However, the husband testified that “I didn’t do nothing until I had the [divorce] papers filled out.” In its divorce judgment, the trial court cited incompatibility as the ground for the divorce.

Much of the testimony in the record on appeal concerns the parties’ personal property.

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Related

Johnson v. Johnson
191 So. 3d 164 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 2015)

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Bluebook (online)
171 So. 3d 38, 2015 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 1, 2015 WL 132441, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdaniel-v-mcdaniel-alacivapp-2015.