Myrick v. Myrick

122 So. 3d 93, 2013 WL 1960414, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 258
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 14, 2013
DocketNo. 2011-CA-01503-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 122 So. 3d 93 (Myrick v. Myrick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Myrick v. Myrick, 122 So. 3d 93, 2013 WL 1960414, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 258 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

CARLTON, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Sheila Myriek filed for a divorce from her husband, James Michael Myriek (“Mike”), on July 13, 2009. After a trial held in the Jones County Chancery Court, the chancellor granted the parties an irreconcilable-differences divorce, divided the marital estate, and awarded alimony to Sheila. Mike now appeals, raising the following assignments of error: whether the chancellor erred in (1) determining the incomes and expenses of the parties in an arbitrary manner that resulted in a permanent-alimony award that was not warranted by the evidence; (2) awarding Sheila temporary alimony and permanent alimony; (3) finding that Mike’s conduct was the primary cause of the demise of the marriage; (4) signing the judgment of divorce that included neither the visitation schedule already adopted by the court nor the agreements made at trial by the parties; and (5) allowing for the post-trial introduction of bank accounts that Mike allegedly wrongfully converted to his use. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. Sheila and Mike married on June 17, 1983. Both parties worked throughout the entire marriage. Sheila worked at an insurance agency, then for Blossman Gas Company, and lastly as a bank teller at BancorpSouth. Mike worked as a project manager at Mississippi Power Company. The marriage produced three children, Jonathan, born October 20, 1987; Shawn, born September 16, 1990; and Allyson, born September 18,1997.

¶ 3. Sheila filed for divorce from Mike on July 13, 2009, and the couple separated on July 15, 2009. An agreed temporary order was entered on October 12, 2009.1 On March 2, 2010, the parties jointly filed a motion asking the court to grant them a divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences, and thereafter have a hearing on the issues to which the parties failed to agree.

¶ 4. On the first day of trial, September 9, 2010, the parties entered into an “Amended Consent to Divorce on the Ground[] of Irreconcilable Differences,” which requested the court decide certain unresolved issues.2 Both Sheila and Mike [96]*96testified at trial. Shortly thereafter, on November 15, 2010, Sheila filed a “Motion to Re-Open Evidence and Clarify Issues.” Mike responded, and the parties allege that a hearing on that motion and a post-trial motion for contempt subsequently commenced on February 1, 2011.3

¶ 5. On March 15, 2011, the chancellor entered his findings of fact and conclusions of law. Mike thereafter filed a motion for reconsideration and, subsequently, an amended motion for reconsideration. On June 8, 2011, the chancellor entered a judgment granting a divorce based on irreconcilable differences. Following a hearing on Mike’s amended motion for reconsideration, the chancellor entered an order denying the motion.

¶ 6. Mike now appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. “Chancellors are afforded wide latitude in fashioning equitable remedies in domestic[-]relations matters, and their decisions will not be reversed if the findings of fact are supported by substantial credible evidence in the record.” Henderson v. Henderson, 757 So.2d 285, 289 (¶ 19) (Miss.2000). “In other words, ‘the [appellate court] will not disturb the findings of a chancellor unless the chancellor was manifestly wrong [or] clearly erroneous[,] or [applied] an erroneous legal standard^]’ ” Id. at 289-90 (¶ 19).

DISCUSSION

I. Whether the chancellor erred in his determination of the incomes and expenses of the parties and did so in an arbitrary manner, resulting in a permanent-alimony award that was not warranted by the evidence.

II. Whether the chancellor erred in awarding to Sheila temporary alimony and permanent alimony.

III. Whether the chancellor erred in finding that Mike’s conduct constituted habitual cruel and inhuman treatment.

¶ 8. Mike argues that the chancellor erred in the computation of the incomes and expenses of the parties.4 After making findings as to Mike’s income and expenses, the chancellor increased Sheila’s award of temporary alimony of $500 to $1,000 a month in permanent alimony. Additionally, Mike argues that the chancellor erred in finding that his conduct constituted habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. Mike contends that no corroborating witness supported such a finding by the court, and while he recognizes that marital fault may be considered as a factor [97]*97under Armstrong,5 he asserts that the supreme court has admonished chancellors to refrain from converting an irreconcilable-differences divorce into a contested divorce trial.

¶ 9. Mississippi case law establishes how chancellors are to approach the division of property in divorce cases. Curry v. Curry, 45 So.3d 724, 726 (¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App.2010). This Court has previously stated:

Before dividing the couple’s assets, the chancellor should first classify the couple’s assets as either marital or non-marital. The supreme court held in Hemsley v. Hemsley, 639 So.2d 909, 914 (Miss.1994), that “assets acquired or accumulated during the course of a marriage are subject to equitable division unless it can be shown by proof that such assets are attributable to one of the parties’ separate estates prior to the marriage or outside the marriage.” Thus, the chancellor may equitably divide only the marital property. Case law also explains that while a spouse’s separate property retains its separate identity during the marriage, “property brought into the marriage by one partner and used by the family becomes a marital asset.”
After classifying the parties’ assets as either marital or non-marital, the chancellor should then proceed to equitably divide the property using the factors set forth by the supreme court in Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So.2d 921, 928 (Miss.1994).6 Finally, the chancellor should examine whether the equitable division of the marital property, considered in light of the non-marital assets, adequately provides for both parties. If the distribution of the parties’ assets, including any separate property, fails to adequately provide for the parties, the chancellor then considers whether to award alimony to one of the parties.

Id. at 726-27 (¶¶ 8-9) (internal citations omitted).

¶ 10. “The Mississippi Supreme Court has articulated certain factors known as the Armstrong factors for determining the proper amount of alimony.” Broome v. Broome, 75 So.3d 1132, 1139 (¶ 22) (Miss.Ct.App.2011). The Armstrong factors are:

1. Income and expenses of the parties;
2. Health and earning capacity of the parties;
3. Needs of each party;
4. Obligations and assets of each party;
5. Length of the marriage;
6. Presence or absence of minor children in the home;
7. Age of the parties;
8. Standard of living of the parties both during the marriage and at the time of the support determination;
9. Tax consequences of the spousal support order;
10.Fault or misconduct;

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Bluebook (online)
122 So. 3d 93, 2013 WL 1960414, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/myrick-v-myrick-missctapp-2013.