Shapiro v. Shapiro

697 A.2d 1342, 346 Md. 648, 1997 Md. LEXIS 114
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedJuly 29, 1997
Docket123, Sept. Term, 1995
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 697 A.2d 1342 (Shapiro v. Shapiro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shapiro v. Shapiro, 697 A.2d 1342, 346 Md. 648, 1997 Md. LEXIS 114 (Md. 1997).

Opinions

RODOWSKY, Judge.

Maryland Code (1984, 1991 Repl.Vol.), § 8-103(c) of the Family Law Article (FL) reads:

“The court may modify any provision of a deed, agreement, or' settlement with respect to alimony or spousal support executed on or after April 13, 1976, regardless of how the provision is stated, unless there is:
(1) an express waiver of alimony or spousal support; or
(2) a provision that specifically states that the provisions with respect to alimony or spousal support are not subject to any court modification.”

The principal issue presented here is whether parties who agree that the amount of spousal support may be court-modified only under certain circumstances, but that support [651]*651otherwise is not to be modified, have utilized with legal effect the subsection (c)(2) exception to the general rule of modifiability.

The issue arises out of the marital settlement agreement (the Agreement) entered into on May 4, 1988, by Debra L. Shapiro (Ms. Shapiro) and David L. Shapiro (Mr. Shapiro). Mr. Shapiro is a clinical psychologist. Ms. Shapiro is a computer programmer and teacher of computer science. Four children were born of the marriage: Sara (9/4/73), Laura (11/11/75), Ann (6/7/79), and Jonathan (1/7/82). Mr. Shapiro remarried in December 1988. Ms. Shapiro has not remarried.

The Agreement was incorporated into, but not merged with, the divorce judgment granted the parties on August 29, 1988, by the Circuit Court for Howard County. Under the Agreement and the decree, the parties have joint custody of their children, whose primary residence is with their mother.

The Agreement recites the parties’ intent “to settle all questions of maintenance and support, alimony, counsel fees, their respective rights in ... property ... and all other matters of every kind and character arising from their marital relationship.” Payments by Mr. Shapiro “as alimony” are as required by parts 5(a) and (b) of the Agreement. Part 5(a) payments of $2,500 per month terminate on the first to occur of the death of either spouse or the arrival of January 1, 2009. There is no provision for the part 5(a) “alimony” to end on Ms. Shapiro’s remarriage. Part 5(b) payments of $1,250 per month commence January 1, 2009, and terminate on the first to occur of the death of either spouse or Ms. Shapiro’s remarriage. For income tax purposes payments made pursuant to both parts are to be deducted by Mr. Shapiro and included in income by Ms. Shapiro.

The January 1, 2009 termination date for part 5(a) “alimony” bears no significant relation to the age of any of the children or to the termination of child support. Under the Agreement support for a child ends on the child’s twenty-fifth birthday. The youngest child reaches age twenty-seven seven days after the part 5(a) payments end.

[652]*652Possible modification of the alimony is addressed in part 5(e), reading:

“Said alimony payments shall not be modified by the Court except in the event that Husband shall become temporarily or permanently disabled as defined in Husband’s current disability insurance policy. In the event of such disability, Husband shall have the right to submit the issue of alimony to arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association or some similarly recognized arbitration association. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if Husband and Wife agree to support modifications as a result of any disability. The level of support preceding Husband’s disability shall remain in effect until said arbitration has resulted in the binding recommendation of a new support figure.”

(Emphasis added). Part 5(f) requires Mr. Shapiro to maintain a disability policy at least as comprehensive as his policy then in effect so long as he is required to make “alimony” payments. Mr. Shapiro is not and has not been disabled.

Mr. Shapiro also agreed to pay child support for his four children in installments of $250 per month for each child. Termination events are Mr. Shapiro’s death, the death of an individual child, or the child’s reaching age twenty-five. The Agreement contains a cost-of-living formula for annual adjustments of child support. Mr. Shapiro further agreed to be responsible “for such other Child-related expenses as medical, dental, and orthodonture expenses, the expenses of Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and camp,” and “to pay the reasonable costs of college tuition, room, and board for each child.”

Approximately sixteen months after the divorce was granted Mr. Shapiro petitioned the court to rescind the Agreement or to modify it. His effort to rescind the Agreement was unsuccessful, and those issues are not before us. Subsequently, the court (Kane, J.) held that the provisions of the Agreement for the payment of alimony were subject to court modification, despite the express provision that the alimony payments were not to be modified, except in the event of Mr. [653]*653Shapiro’s disability—a condition that had not occurred. The court based its conclusion on Langley v. Langley, 88 Md.App. 535, 596 A.2d 89 (1991).

Langley involved a separation agreement that provided for a court determination of spousal support in the event the husband were to become unemployed. But for that provision, the agreement was silent on modifiability vel non of support. When the husband sought a modification of the amount of support, although he was still employed, the trial court dismissed the petition because the sole condition for modification had not occurred. Id. at 537, 596 A.2d at 90. The Court of Special Appeals reversed.

It noted that FL § 8-103(c)(2) required “a specific statement that support is not subject to any court modification,” both of which were lacking in the Langleys’ agreement. Id. at 540-41, 596 A.2d at 92. The court said:

“While their agreement provides that the parties may petition the court to modify the support obligation if Mr. Langley should become unemployed, the agreement is devoid of a specific statement, as required by statute, in order to preclude the eourt from modifying the support obligation under other circumstances. Without the requisite definitive statement, their agreement is subject to modification by the court.”

Id. at 541, 596 A.2d at 92 (emphasis added).

Ms. Langley then argued that the separation agreement, by limiting modification to one circumstance, was properly to be construed to prohibit modification under any other circumstances. The Court of Special Appeals rejected this contention. It repeated that FL § 8—103(c)(2) “unequivocally requires a specific statement that the agreement is not subject to any court modification.” Id. The court further held that “[wjithout the requisite § 8-103(c)(2) statement, the Langleys’ spousal support provision is subject to modification despite” the paragraph addressing the husband’s possible unemployment. Id.

[654]*654Insofar as it bears on the issues before us, Langley may be read in two different ways.

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Shapiro v. Shapiro
697 A.2d 1342 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
697 A.2d 1342, 346 Md. 648, 1997 Md. LEXIS 114, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shapiro-v-shapiro-md-1997.