Stone v. Stone

725 S.W.2d 145, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 3723
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 3, 1987
DocketNos. 51193, 51194
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 725 S.W.2d 145 (Stone v. Stone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stone v. Stone, 725 S.W.2d 145, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 3723 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

DOWD, Presiding Judge.

Husband and wife appeal from the judgment of the trial court, pursuant to a petition for dissolution, awarding no maintenance, ordering an equal division of husband’s disposable military pension, and ordering husband to pay wife’s attorney fees. We affirm.

Appellant/cross-respondent Helga Stone (hereinafter “wife”), and respondent/cross-appellant Ronald Stone (hereinafter “husband”), were first married on August 1, 1959. Two children were bom of this marriage, Daniel J. Stone and Teresa Kim Stone, both of whom are now emancipated.

Husband and wife were divorced on December 20, 1966 in the State of California. A separation agreement was entered into by the parties at this time, whereby each party was released from all liabilities, debts and obligations, including any claims for support or maintenance.

Husband and wife remarried in Missouri on February 14,1970. The parties separated on June 18, 1978 and have lived apart since that date.

[147]*147Husband filed for dissolution of the second marriage on January 11, 1979. Wife failed to appear at the hearing on March 2, 1979 and a default judgment was entered granting a dissolution of marriage but making no disposition of marital property.

Wife, by her legal guardian, filed a petition challenging the dissolution decree. After hearing evidence on wife’s petition, the court concluded that wife was mentally ill and incompetent at the time of the March 2, 1979 judgment. Because wife’s interests were not represented at that hearing, the court ordered the March 2, 1979 judgment be set aside.

This cause was heard by the court on July 12, 1985. Evidence presented at the hearing showed wife is a ward of the state. Testimony indicated wife held various types of employment in the past. The court found, however, that wife has, and continues to suffer from, a hysterical neurosis. This dissociative type of chronic mental disorder limits and impairs wife’s ability to engage in gainful employment. Because of this illness, wife lives in an apartment complex operated by the Department of Mental Health and is under its supervision and control. Wife has long term goals of being placed back into the community. Her current income consists entirely of public assistance.

Husband’s income consists of part-time employment and a military pension. Testimony indicated husband had worked full time for $7.00 an hour until March 1984. Presently, he works approximately twenty-five hours a week for the minimum hourly wage. Husband also receives a military pension based on his service in the United States Navy from November 7, 1957 until April 13, 1977. Husband became entitled to, and began receiving pension benefits, beginning in May 1977. Husband currently receives pension benefits in the amount of $725.00 per month.

Based on the evidence presented at trial, the court awarded no maintenance, ordered an equal division of husband’s disposable military pension, and ordered husband to pay wife’s attorney fees.

Wife appeals from that portion of the judgment awarding no maintenance. Husband cross-appeals from the trial court’s judgment awarding wife fifty percent of the military pension as her share of the marital property and ordering husband to pay wife’s attorney fees.

Wife, on appeal, contends the court erred by failing to award periodic maintenance of an indefinite duration. She contends that based on her mental illness and her inability to support herself an award of substantial maintenance is required. Wife further contends that at least an award of nominal maintenance is required in order to preserve jurisdiction.

The granting or refusing of maintenance under § 452.335, RSMo 1986, is a matter of judicial discretion, and in either case will not be disturbed unless there is a showing of an abuse of discretion. Royal v. Royal, 617 S.W.2d 615, 619 (Mo.App.1981).

Where there is an attempt to show an abuse of discretion, it is important to note that § 452.335 grants the trial court wide latitude in decreeing spousal maintenance. Doerflinger v. Doerflinger, 646 S.W.2d 798, 800 (Mo. banc 1983). Moreover, the decree is not required to meet all the needs of the spouse receiving the award. Hoffmann v. Hoffmann, 676 S.W.2d 817, 828 (Mo. banc 1984). Rather, the trial court must balance the spouse’s ability to pay against the reasonable needs of the spouse seeking maintenance. Sawtell v. Sawtell, 569 S.W.2d 286, 288 (Mo.App.1978). Where possible, such reasonable needs are to be met by the division of marital property. Brueggemann v. Brueggemann, 551 S.W.2d 853, 857 (Mo.App. banc 1977).

After balancing wife’s reasonable needs against husband’s ability to pay in the instant case, we cannot say the trial court erred in failing to order periodic maintenance. The evidence showed that husband's income consists of a salary from part-time employment at the minimum hourly wage and the proceeds of a military pension in the amount of $725.00 per month. Wife’s income consists entirely of public assistance.

[148]*148Although the court did not grant wife maintenance, fifty percent of husband’s disposable military pension was allocated to wife in the marital property distribution. Husband was also ordered to pay wife’s attorney fees. In view of the economic circumstances of each spouse and the other provisions of the decree, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by failing to order husband to pay periodic maintenance.

Wife further contends the trial court erred by failing to grant at least nominal maintenance. Wife contends that nominal maintenance is required to preserve jurisdiction of the issue for future modification. Wife feels she will need additional maintenance if her long term goal of rehabilitation is realized and she is placed back into the community.

The retention of jurisdiction over the issue of maintenance by granting nominal maintenance is appropriate where “the evidence shows a physical condition existing at the time of the marriage dissolution which has a substantial potentiality for disabling the [spouse] from remaining self-supporting....” McBane v. McBane, 553 S.W.2d 521, 524 (Mo.App.1977); see also, Abney v. Abney, 575 S.W.2d 842, 844 (Mo.App.1978). Here, however, at the time of the marriage dissolution, wife was disabled and was not self-supporting as her condition precluded her from seeking employment. The full extent of wife’s disabling condition, as well as the future possibility that wife may someday be released from the care of the Department of Mental Health, were before the trial court at the time of trial. The court obviously took wife’s disabling condition into account in awarding her one-half of the military pension in the marital property distribution. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant periodic or nominal maintenance.

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Bluebook (online)
725 S.W.2d 145, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 3723, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stone-v-stone-moctapp-1987.