Yurkiw v. Yurkiw, No. Fa00 037 84 49 S (Mar. 13, 2003)

2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 4098
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedMarch 13, 2003
DocketNo. FA00 037 84 49 S
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 4098 (Yurkiw v. Yurkiw, No. Fa00 037 84 49 S (Mar. 13, 2003)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yurkiw v. Yurkiw, No. Fa00 037 84 49 S (Mar. 13, 2003), 2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 4098 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.]

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
This is an action for the dissolution of a marriage. The parties married in Peru, Massachusetts on August 20, 1988. They have resided continuously in this state for at least twelve months before the date of filing the complaint; therefore, the court has jurisdiction.

This is the only marriage for the plaintiff and the second marriage for the defendant. There is one minor child who is issue of this marriage, Cooper, born June 27, 1994.

I. Facts of the Case1
The plaintiff, Mark Yurkiw, was born in 1954 in New York City. There he attended high school and college, eventually graduating from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1976. The plaintiff is in reasonably good health.2 The defendant, a forty-seven year old Maryland native, attended college part-time at Fraconia College in New Hampshire. Her first marriage ended by divorce in 1982. She is also in good health.

These parties met in 1981. He made three-dimensional models. She was a photo stylist. In 1987 their relationship turned romantic. They lived together, rent-free, in the defendant's apartment for a short while before their marriage on August 20, 1988. In the early years of their relationship, the relationship was idyllic. They traveled extensively, dined virtually nightly in various restaurants, and visited the plaintiff's vacation home in Peru on most weekends. These habits continued, virtually unabated, during the early years of their marriage.

After their marriage, both parties continued to work in their chosen careers, although the defendant voluntarily decreased her hours of employment. They left New York City in 1989, moving into their first home in Katonah, New York.3 In 1994, their only child, Cooper, was born. CT Page 4099

At the time of their marriage, both parties had some property. The plaintiff had approximately $20,000 in cash and some securities. He also had an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that contained about $50,000. That account was augmented by funds received from a profit sharing account that the plaintiff has while he worked at Mark Yurkiew Group, Ltd. Additionally, the plaintiff had an annuity that he had funded prior to this marriage. The plaintiff also has Series EE savings bonds that he acquired for his child's education. Finally, the plaintiff had a life insurance policy naming the child Cooper as beneficiary.

The defendant also had accumulated some cash prior to her marriage. Additionally, as a full-time photo stylist, she anticipated several thousand dollars in account receivables.

Although deeply in debt, these parties do have some marital assets. During the bulk of this union, a major marital asset was the plaintiff's company, Mark Yurkiew Group, Ltd. He began this enterprise approximately a year before he met the defendant. Furthermore, the parties have acquired jointly owned real estate. In August 1988 the plaintiff purchased a country home in Peru, Massachusetts. The purchase price was $58,000; the plaintiff provided a twenty (20%) percent down payment.4 He subsequently bought the adjoining ten-acre parcel of land for approximately $24,000.

Shortly after the marriage, the parties purchased a home in Katonah, New York. In order to have a sufficient down payment for that house, they refinanced the Peru, Massachusetts home, placing the vacation property in both names at the time of refinance. For their next real estate transaction, the parties sold both the Katonah and Peru homes. With the combined proceeds, they had enough funds for a down payment on the present marital home located in Westport, Connecticut. In addition to the marital home, that land contained two rental properties.

After the Yurkiws married, the couple combined all income. The defendant controlled the family checkbook. They have not saved any money since they moved to Westport. The plaintiff's company leased the primary family automobile. Although the couple had acquired personal property, neither provided any reliable evidence concerning the value of that property.5 Since the date of their separation, the parties have gone deeper into debt. In the fall of 2000, they split the marital accounts, including $130,000 contained in the plaintiff's securities account. Each received $90,000.

The family assets are minimal. As mentioned previously, at the time of their marriage, the plaintiff had a home in Peru, Massachusetts, with CT Page 4100 adjoining land, subject to a substantial mortgage, some cash and securities, Series EE savings bonds and an Individual Retirement Account that contained approximately $50,000. The defendant had a car and some cash. The family finances were handled through a joint account into which the plaintiff deposited his salary checks.

The family lived in a home in Katonah, New York before moving to Westport in 1996. The martial property contains two separate rental units. The property and dwellings have all been improved since the date of purchase. Unfortunately, the couple refinanced, not to reduce the mortgage but rather to have access to additional cash. That money is long gone. Neither litigant has any significant savings. There is some personal property in the marital home.

The defendant inherited a house upon her mother's death in 2000. She currently has tenants for that property. She also inherited some money.

As indicated earlier, the plaintiff's personal business was an integral part of this family's finances. The plaintiff graduated from college in 1976 with a degree in fine arts. Shortly thereafter he began his own business as the creator of three-dimensional art. The focus of the plaintiff's work was the design and construction of models or sculptures used for advertisements and photographs. Examination of the multiple exhibits depicting the plaintiff's work reveals that his was a unique type of talent.6

The plaintiff's business initially was successful. As his business expanded, the plaintiff moved his headquarters to a large location on Varick Street in New York City. There he attracted sub-tenants. In 1995, hoping to expand his client base and diversify, the plaintiff took on a partner. Unfortunately the enterprise was unsuccessful; the partnership ended in 1998. At the dissolution, each partner received one-half of the receivables.

The plaintiff's business did not improve. Despite the loss of business accounts, his business expenses did not decrease. One of the most significant operating costs was rent.7 Another major expense was a line of credit from Citibank. Opened in 1998, this business debt grew to over $90,000.8

By the spring of 2000 the Mark Yurkiw Group was in major decline. There were at most 6 employees on payroll. Many of those left the company by the following autumn. By that time there was an industry wide recession. Advertising was especially hard hit. The Mark Yurkiw Group had substantial debt but no income stream. In May 2001 the plaintiff closed CT Page 4101 his business permanently.

The plaintiff did attempt to sell his enterprise. There were no purchasers. The plaintiff could do no more than sell his remaining tools. After several unsuccessful attempts through various industry exchanges, the plaintiff sold his remaining tools for $8,500 to a former competitor.9 The business is defunct.

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Related

Smith v. Smith
441 A.2d 140 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1981)
Sgarellino v. Hightower
538 A.2d 1065 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 4098, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yurkiw-v-yurkiw-no-fa00-037-84-49-s-mar-13-2003-connsuperct-2003.