Sayoc v. Sayoc

2016 Ohio 1199
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 23, 2016
Docket27624
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

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Bluebook
Sayoc v. Sayoc, 2016 Ohio 1199 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

[Cite as Sayoc v. Sayoc, 2016-Ohio-1199.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

IRENE M. SAYOC C.A. No. 27624

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE JEFFREY A. SAYOC COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellant CASE No. 2013-10-3053

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: March 23, 2016

WHITMORE, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-Appellant, Jeffrey Sayoc (“Husband”), appeals from the judgment of

the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. This Court reverses.

I

{¶2} Husband and Plaintiff-Appellee, Irene Sayoc (“Wife”), are both licensed attorneys

who married in August 1997. During their 17-year marriage, the parties had three children: G.S.,

born in 2002; J.S., born in 2004; and W.S., born in 2007. Wife worked for several years before

the children were born, first as an attorney and then as a loan closer. Not long after their eldest

child was born, however, the parties mutually decided that Wife would stop working. Wife

placed her law license on inactive status and focused on raising the children for the duration of

the marriage. Between the time the parties married and the time that Wife stopped working, the

highest annual salary that she earned was $27,250. Meanwhile, Husband enjoyed steady salary

increases over the years and, by 2014, was earning approximately $140,000 per year. 2

{¶3} In October 2013, Wife filed for divorce, and Husband counterclaimed for the

same. The parties were able to draft a shared parenting plan and agree on the allocation of their

assets and debts, but could not settle the issues of child support and spousal support. The trial

court held a trial on those two issues and heard testimony from the parties, as well as a

vocational expert. It ultimately ordered Husband to pay (1) $1,396.89 per month in child

support, and (2) $3,500 per month in spousal support for a period of 48 months.

{¶4} Husband now appeals from the trial court’s judgment and raises two assignments

of error for our review. For ease of analysis, we combine the assignments of error.

II

Assignment of Error Number One

THE TRIAL COURT’S CONSIDERATION OF WIFE’S UNSUBSTANTIATED ANNUAL CHILD CARE COSTS OF $24,000.00 IN WEIGHING WHETHER OR NOT TO IMPUTE INCOME TO WIFE IN CALCULATING SPOUSAL AND CHILD SUPPORT WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE AND WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE CAUSING PREJUDICIAL ERROR TO HUSBAND AND IN THE ALTERNATIVE AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION.

Assignment of Error Number Two

THE TRIAL COURT FINDING THAT WIFE WAS NOT VOLUNTARILY UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED AND BY NOT IMPUTING ANY INCOME TO WIFE FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING SPOUSAL SUPPORT AND CHILD SUPPORT WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE PREJUDICING HUSBAND BECAUSE THERE WAS A GREATER AMOUNT OF COMPETENT CREDIBLE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT A FINDING THAT WIFE HAD A GREATER EARNING ABILITY AND POTENTIAL INCOME AND IN THE ALTERNATIVE ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN ITS ULTIMATE DETERMINATION OF ITS SPOUSAL AND CHILD SUPPORT AWARDS.

{¶5} In his assignments of error, Husband argues that the trial court erred in its child

support and spousal support awards. Specifically, he argues that the court erred by not imputing

income to Wife and by relying on her unsubstantiated estimate of their projected annual child 3

care costs to offset any potential income that she might earn. We agree that the trial court erred

in its awards.

Spousal Support

{¶6} “In divorce * * * proceedings, * * * the court of common pleas may award

reasonable spousal support to either party.” R.C. 3105.18(B). Generally, “[t]his Court reviews a

spousal support award under an abuse of discretion standard.” Hirt v. Hirt, 9th Dist. Medina No.

03CA0110-M, 2004-Ohio-4318, ¶ 8. “In awarding spousal support, however, a trial court also

must make factual determinations as to the income level [and earning potential] of each spouse.”

Kent v. Kent, 9th Dist. Summit No. 26072, 2012-Ohio-2745, ¶ 6. Those determinations are

factual findings that this Court reviews for sufficiency and weight. Bucalo v. Bucalo, 9th Dist.

Medina No. 05CA0011-M, 2005-Ohio-6319, ¶ 44. See also Eastley v. Volkman, 132 Ohio St.3d

328, 2012-Ohio-2179.

{¶7} “‘In determining whether spousal support is appropriate and reasonable,’ the court

shall consider the factors listed in [R.C.] 3105.18(C)(1)[(a)-(n)].” Organ v. Organ, 9th Dist.

Summit No. 26904, 2014-Ohio-3474, ¶ 6, quoting R.C. 3105.18(C)(1). Those factors are as

follows:

(a) The income of the parties, from all sources * * *;

(b) The relative earning abilities of the parties;

(c) The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties;

(d) The retirement benefits of the parties;

(e) The duration of the marriage;

(f) The extent to which it would be inappropriate for a party, because that party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage, to seek employment outside the home;

(g) The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage; 4

(h) The relative extent of education of the parties;

(i) The relative assets and liabilities of the parties, including but not limited to any court-ordered payments by the parties;

(j) The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party * * *;

(k) The time and expense necessary for the spouse who is seeking spousal support to acquire education, training, or job experience so that the spouse will be qualified to obtain appropriate employment, provided the education, training, or job experience, and employment is, in fact, sought;

(l) The tax consequences, for each party, of an award of spousal support;

(m) The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from that party’s marital responsibilities;

(n) Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable.

R.C. 3105.18(C)(1)(a)-(n). “Need is not a basis for an award of spousal support; rather, the court

must consider the factors set forth in R.C. 3105.18(C)(1) and determine within its sound

discretion whether spousal support is appropriate.” Sigman v. Sigman, 9th Dist. Wayne No.

11CA0012, 2012-Ohio-5433, ¶ 12.

{¶8} Initially, we note that Husband repeatedly asserts in his brief that the trial court

erred by not imputing income to Wife for purposes of its spousal support award. “Unlike the

child support statute, [however,] the spousal support statute does not direct the court to consider

the ‘potential income’ of a spouse * * *.” Collins v. Collins, 9th Dist. Wayne No. 10CA0004,

2011-Ohio-2087, ¶ 16, quoting R.C. 3119.01(C)(5). Instead, the spousal support statute directs

the court to consider the parties’ actual income and their respective earning abilities. Collins at ¶

16. “The end result is not to arrive at a specific figure so as to ‘impute’ income; rather, the end

result is to consider and weigh the spouses’ relative earning abilities along with the other factors

in arriving at reasonable spousal support both as to amount and term.” Id. at ¶ 19. Accordingly,

for purposes of spousal support, the question is not whether the court should have imputed 5

income to Wife. The question is whether the court erred in determining her actual income and

her relative earning ability.

{¶9} The parties stipulated that Wife graduated from the University of Toledo College

of Law in 1998 and passed the Ohio bar exam in 1999.

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2016 Ohio 1199, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sayoc-v-sayoc-ohioctapp-2016.