Wilson v. Wilson

606 S.W.2d 56, 270 Ark. 485, 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1605
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 29, 1980
Docket80-118
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 606 S.W.2d 56 (Wilson v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson v. Wilson, 606 S.W.2d 56, 270 Ark. 485, 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1605 (Ark. 1980).

Opinions

John I. Purtle, Justice.

Appellee was awarded a decree of divorce from the appellant on December 4, 1978. Additional motions, pleadings, and arguments were subsequently submitted to the court. An amended decree was entered on March 5, 1979, and a final decree entered of record on September 24, 1979.

On appeal appellant urges four points for reversal: (1) Ark. Stat. Ann. § 34-1211 and § 34-1214 are unconstitutional; (2) appellee should have been held liable for one third of the income tax liability; (3) appellee was awarded more than one third of the personal property; and, (4) the award of alimony and child support was excessive.

We hold the appellant did not timely raise the constitutionality of the statutes; we are unable to determine from the record whether the decree required appellant to pay any of appellee’s income taxes; the court did not err in the division of the personal property; and, the alimony and child support awards are now moot.

On August 25, 1978, appellee filed a complaint for divorce and determination of child custody, alimony, and property rights. The parties were married on June 19, I960. The parties have two children, ages 10 and 11. The appellant filed an answer and counterclaim against the appellee. In a letter opinion dated October 10, 1978, and filed for record November 8, 1978, the court granted appellee a divorce and set forth the property division, custody, support, alimony, and attorney’s fees. A formal decree was filed for record on December 4, 1978.

The decree of December 4, 1978, awarded custody of the minor children to the appellee subject to reasonable visitation by the appellant. The wife was awarded ownership of an automobile which was subject to a lien, and she was ordered to pay the lien. The decree awarded the wife the majority of the household furniture. Appellee was also awarded one third interest for life in the lands owned by the appellant and one third interest absolute in the farm equipment and a camper, subject to existing liens. Finally, appellee was awarded one third of the net proceeds for the 1978 crops which had not yet been gathered. The husband was awarded two pickup trucks, a boat, motor, guns, hunting and fishing equipment. Appellant was ordered to pay $344 per month child support and $300 per month alimony on a temporary basis. The court held for later determination any interest appellee might have in a flying service, PCA membership certificates, and certain bonds and stocks.

Appellant filed a brief on December 19, 1978, in which he questioned the division of the property and the constitutionality of the divorce statutes.

On January 2, 1979, a supplemental decree, dated December 13, 1978, was filed of record. The court disposed of the matters which had been held in abeyance in the original decree of December 4, 1978. Appellee was awarded a one third interest in the Cullum note for $5,000. She was denied any interest in the other items which had been held for further consideration. The court continued to hold under submission the matter of whether the wife should be held responsible for any of the income tax resulting from the sale of the 1978 crops.

Appellee filed a motion for reconsideration of the court’s holding that she was entitled to an interest in the stocks and bonds and other certificates of indebtedness. By letter opinion dated January 7, 1979, and filed for record on February 14, 1979, the court amended the decree to allow appellee an interest in the stocks and bonds and certificates of indebtedness. The court also granted appellant the right to rent appellee’s share of farm equipment for the year 1979 and further stated if appellant did not rent her interest, for the sum of $2,200, the equipment would be ordered sold by the court. The court refused to reduce the child support and alimony as requested by appellant. The opinion further stated that the provisions of the Arkansas statutes relating to property rights were mandatory.

A petition to eliminate alimony was filed on March 1, 1979. On March 5, 1979, the court entered an order finding there had been no change of circumstances to justify modification of support or alimony payments. This order repeated provisions of earlier orders relating to rental of farm equipment or, in the alternative, the sale of equipment and gave an award of one third of the personal property to the appellee.

Apparently, appellant rejected the rental alternative on the farm equipment, and it was ordered sold on March 19, 1979- Appellee was awarded one third of the net proceeds of the sale which was held on March 28-, 1979- The subsequently filed report of sale was entered on April 11, 1979, showing the proceeds to be $101,689-90. Due to the debts owed, there were no net proceeds to be divided.

The appellant filed a motion on March 22, 1979, requesting discontinuance of alimony payments to the wife and sought a refund of the $1,500 previously paid as alimony. The argument was that the alimony was based upon an unconstitutional statute. The motion further argued the holding in Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 268, 99 S.Ct. 1102, 59 L.Ed. 2d 306 (1979), and that the circumstances of the parties had changed. On the same date the appellee filed a motion requesting appellant to be ordered to sell the 1978 rice crops which had been harvested.

The court filed another letter opinion on April 23, 1979, in which it stated the Orr v. Orr, supra, case had not yet been read by the court and that the General Assembly had enacted Act 705 of 1979 which very likely cured any defects in the prior orders of the court.

The appellant filed a motion for reconsideration on June 4, 1979- He sought reconsideration of the decree of December 4, 1978. He further questioned the reconsideration which the court had entered on March 5, 1979. Appellant again argued the constitutionality of the Arkansas divorce statutes and quoted Orr v. Orr, supra, as well as Hatcher v. Hatcher, 265 Ark. 681, 580 S.W. 2d 475, (1979). On June 8, 1979, the court entered an order requiring appellant to make the child support and alimony payments for April, May and June, 1979. The court took under consideration the motion to reduce child support payments and dissolve alimony payments as well as the matter of income taxes. On July 12, 1979, the court filed an additional order. This order dissolved the alimony as of August 31, 1979, and held the child support payment in the original amounts was proper. The court further held the matter of the income tax under consideration.

The court filed a final order and judgment September 24, 1979. The court reiterated prior holdings and disposed of the matter of the 1978 crops and appellee’s interest in appellant’s personal property by requiring the appellant to pay the appellee the sum of $16,159.66 for her total interest in these items. This order also held the appellee was entitled to one third interest in the appellant’s shop equipment. The net result of this judgment seemed to reaffirm the court’s earlier decisions granting the appellee an undivided one third interest in the appellant’s personal property and a one third interest for life in the lands owned by the appellant. The court denied the appellant’s claim that the appellee be held liable for any part of the state and federal income taxes resulting from the sale of said personal property and crops.

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Bluebook (online)
606 S.W.2d 56, 270 Ark. 485, 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1605, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-wilson-ark-1980.