Phillips v. Phillips

647 S.E.2d 481, 185 N.C. App. 238, 2007 N.C. App. LEXIS 1735
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedAugust 7, 2007
DocketCOA06-1556
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 647 S.E.2d 481 (Phillips v. Phillips) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Phillips v. Phillips, 647 S.E.2d 481, 185 N.C. App. 238, 2007 N.C. App. LEXIS 1735 (N.C. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

MARTIN, Chief Judge.

Defendant appeals from an order filed 16 June 2006 ordering defendant to pay alimony of $700 per month to plaintiff for eleven years.

By judgment entered 9 March 2004, plaintiff and defendant were divorced. On 23 February 2005 the parties entered into a consent order providing for post separation support to be paid to plaintiff for twelve months, after which either party was given the right to calendar the issue of permanent alimony for hearing.

[240]*240By agreement, the issue of alimony was set for hearing on 1 May 2006. After the hearing, the trial court determined that plaintiff was a dependent spouse substantially in need of maintenance and support, primarily so that she may obtain a suitable residence. The findings of fact noted that plaintiff owned a 930-square-foot condominium which had been and continues to be her mother’s primary residence and which plaintiff’s mother gifted to her for estate planning purposes. The court further found that plaintiff was living with her mother in the condominium at the time of the hearing and that such living arrangement did not allow plaintiff to keep her organ or her piano at her residence, and instead plaintiff was renting a storage unit for those items, as well as some of her other personal belongings.

With regard to the standard of living of the parties during the marriage, the court found that the marital home had been over 2,000 square feet and in need of repairs, that the parties had lived “comfortably but modestly,” and that they “enjoyed some luxuries.” Additionally, the court found that, in 2005, plaintiff’s income was $29,840, and defendant’s income was $74,704, and that defendant’s future earning capacity was “substantial” while plaintiff’s earning capacity was not as substantial. The court also made findings regarding property owned by the parties and their respective savings. Upon these findings, the court entered an order awarding alimony to plaintiff. Defendant appeals.

Defendant first challenges the trial court’s determination that plaintiff is a dependent spouse, asserting that the trial court failed to make findings of fact required under N.C.G.S. § 50-16.1A(2) and Williams v. Williams, 299 N.C. 174, 261 S.E.2d 849 (1980).

The trial court found: “Plaintiff is a dependent spouse and is substantially in need of maintenance and support from the defendant as she is unable to currently afford a suitable residence.” Our General Statutes state: “ ‘Dependent spouse’ means a spouse, whether husband or wife, who is ... substantially in need of maintenance and support from the other spouse.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-16.1A(2) (2005). Our Supreme Court has further interpreted the meaning of “substantially in need” as “requir[ing] only that the spouse seeking alimony establish that he or she would be unable to maintain his or her accustomed standard of living (established prior to separation) without financial contribution from the other.” Williams, 299 N.C. at 181-82, 261 S.E.2d at 855. In Williams, the Court supplied additional guidelines for [241]*241determining when a spouse is “substantially in need of maintenance and support,” as follows:

A. The trial court must determine the standard of living, socially and economically, to which the parties as a family unit had become accustomed during the several years prior to their separation.
B. It must also determine the present earnings and prospective earning capacity and any other “condition” (such as health and child custody) of each spouse at the time of hearing.
C. After making these determinations, the trial court must then determine whether the spouse seeking alimony has a demonstrated need for financial contribution from the other spouse in order to maintain the standard of living of the spouse seeking alimony in the manner to which that spouse became accustomed during the last several years prior to separation. This would entail considering what reasonable expenses the party seeking alimony has, bearing in mind the family unit’s accustomed standard of living.
D. The financial worth or “estate” of both spouses must also be considered by the trial court in determining which spouse is the dependent spouse. . . .

Id. at 183, 261 S.E.2d at 856. Defendant argues that the trial court in the present case failed to make findings with respect to the financial worth or estate of the parties. However, the trial court’s findings include a description of the real property owned by each of the parties as well as their personal savings, satisfying the requirement to consider the parties’ estates.

Further, defendant contends that the court improperly considered plaintiff’s ownership of the condominium, where the court made the finding “plaintiff does technically own this [condominium], however it is her mother’s residence and her mother will reside there for the remainder of her life” because technical ownership is not a legal concept. Thus, defendant argues, the court failed to properly weigh this asset among the statutory factors for determining substantial need. Defendant’s position fails to appreciate the meaning of the finding. Although we agree that the finding of technical ownership has no legal significance, the meaning of the finding remains intact. The court properly found that ownership of the condominium lies with [242]*242plaintiff. In further explanation of the nature of the use of the condominium (despite plaintiff’s ownership), the court specifically noted that the condominium “is [plaintiff’s] mother’s residence and her mother will reside there for the remainder of her life.” This portion of the finding indicates the standard of living established during the marriage and plaintiff’s need for more space “in order to maintain the standard of living of the spouse seeking alimony in the manner to which that spouse became accustomed during the last several years prior to separation.” Id. at 183, 261 S.E.2d at 856. When coupled with the court’s finding that plaintiff lacked adequate space in the condominium to store her organ, piano, and other belongings previously located in the parties’ residence, the court’s finding regarding ownership of the condominium clearly corresponds to the factors enumerated in Williams. The dissent takes issue with the court’s finding because plaintiff’s ownership of the condominium is fee simple without any reservation of a life estate for her mother or any other agreement accompanying the deed evidencing plaintiff’s mother’s legal right to remain in the condominium. Despite the absence of such evidence, it is perfectly obvious from the finding that plaintiff’s mother deeded the condominium to plaintiff as part of an estate plan. While it is true, as the dissent notes, that plaintiff owns the condominium in fee simple, plaintiff’s ownership of the condominium cannot be weighed without consideration of the past use and intended future use of the condominium. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court’s findings were adequate to meet the requirements of N.C.G.S. § 50-16.1A(2) and Williams.

By defendant’s next argument, he contends the trial court violated N.C.G.S. § 50-16.3A(b), requiring the court to “consider all relevant factors” “[i]n determining the amount, duration, and manner of payment of alimony” and Lamb v. Lamb, 103 N.C. App.

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Phillips v. Phillips
647 S.E.2d 481 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
647 S.E.2d 481, 185 N.C. App. 238, 2007 N.C. App. LEXIS 1735, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phillips-v-phillips-ncctapp-2007.