Category Archives: Woodbury Divorce Lawyer

Court Reverses Trial Court Permanent Spousal Maintenance Award And Directs Rehabilitative Maintenance and Also Directs Smaller Monthly Sum

In Spolum v. D’Amato, A14-1335, A14-1720 (Minn. App. August 17, 2015)  the Court of Appeals reversed a Ramsey County  trial court decision awarding Permanent Spousal Maintenance and remanded to the trial court to recalculate Spolum’s  monthly expenses, D’Amato’s income, and to reduce the monthly maintenance award of $14,072 and further held only Rehabilitative Spousal Maintenance was appropriate.

D’Amato, an orthopedic surgeon, and Spolum, a flight attendant, were married in 2001 and had one son, born in 2003. The parties separated in July 2010.  A legal separation action was started and then the parties attempted reconciliation but continued to live separately. A divorce trial began in August 2013. At that time, Spolum was age 49 and D’Amato was age 45.

To plan for the wedding, Spolum took a leave of absence as a flight attendant and extended it after the 911 attack and returned to work 5 years later. She quit in 2006 because her commute was stressful. She is high school educated with some college and art school classes.

Spolum worked at a clothing boutique and as a yoga instructor. When the parties reconciled she opened a chocolate shop, but the business failed. Trial evidence reflected she was “brilliant and creative”.  She was interested in animal-welfare and was on the board of directors for an animal-welfare organization. Spolum desired to establish a career as an animal welfare advocate. A vocational rehabilitation evaluation was completed concluding without additional training she could work in a position earning between $10-$12 an hour, but could attend a two year vocational program.

During the marriage D’Amato was let go in a physician practice. He applied to Health Partners. He was initially rejected, but Spolum testified she invited the head of HealthPartners to their home to advocate for reconsideration and D’Amato was then hired.  D’Amato also began a second job as an independent medical-legal consultant, working approximately 20 hours a week. Near the end of 2011 D’Amato quit the second job as it was time-consuming and stressful causing him anxiety and to be unhealthy. He testified he was already working 50 hours a week at HealthPartners.

D’Amato testified his earning in 2013 would be $800,000 and that he was seeing fewer patients as they were being diverted to other doctors. The Director of HealthPartners testified there has been a decrease in patient volume and surgeries. D’Amato’s income has been decreasing since 2011 and he predicted this trend would continue. He could earn additional income based on his production, but patients were decreasing. D’Amato testified he projected his salary in 2014 to be $750,000. D’Amato proposed the court use his 2013 income of $800,000 and that he pay spousal maintenance for 4 years to allow Spolum to acquire employment and training.

In the Judgment the trial court set D’Amato’s income at $950,538 using a 3 year average and despite finding he had quit his second job to create a more balanced life. The  judge stated that in the event the court overestimated his income D’Amato was in a better position to correct the error by pursuing additional options.

The trial court found Spolum’s discretionary spending at $9,943 per month and then modified that to $8,383 based on D’Amato’s claim this was even higher than she requested. In the original decision the court ordered $18,225 per month in spousal maintenance which was subsequently amended to $14,072 after post-trial motions. Apparently the trial court made findings concerning Spolum’s earning capacity and ability to re-enter the job market, but ignored those facts in making it a permanent maintenance award. The court found she was in good physical and emotional health and found no reason why she could not pursue a successful career because she was healthy, intelligent, articulate, creative, and capable.

The court found permanent spousal maintenance was appropriate based on: (1) the high marital standard of living, (2) the length of the marriage, (3) Spolum will never be able to support herself in the manner close to the marital standard of living, and (4) the fact D’Amato’s income would not decrease. Spolum was awarded $1.2 million dollars in assets, including the Caribbean home “Seacliff” which D’Amato requested be sold and artwork of $110,000, but found the assets were not available until retirement.

The court of appeals reversed the amount and duration of the award and stated Permanent Spousal Maintenance was not warranted and that the award should be Rehabilitative. The court explained a court may award spousal maintenance (1) if a spouse lacks sufficient property, including allocated property to provide for reasonable needs considering the standard of living, or (2) is unable to provide self-support through appropriate employment, in light of the standard of living. Minn Stat. 518.552, subd.1.  In determining an award the court should evaluate (1) the financial resources of the requesting party, including marital property awarded to the party, and the party’s ability to meet needs independently, (2) time necessary to become self-supporting, (3) marital standard of living, (4) duration of marriage, (5) loss of employment benefits and opportunities foregone by requesting party, (6) age, physical condition, and emotional condition of the requesting party, (7) ability of the obligor to meet the needs of both parties, and (8) contribution of each party in the acquisition, preservation, and depreciation of marital property. Minn. Stat. 518.552, subd. 2.

The court stated the trial court put an overriding emphasis on the standard of living, which was merely one factor to be considered. The court did not agree the assets awarded to Spolum were not available until retirement. The court held the evidence and findings support an award of rehabilitative maintenance, not permanent spousal maintenance. The court noted the standard of living was over emphasized because Spolum also testified the standard of living was excessive and unnecessary and was a mistake and was based on D’Amato previously working two jobs and that it was unfair to consider a lifestyle based on income from a prior second job that contributed an average of additional income of $200,00 per year. The court also stated the parties had only lived together as husband and wife for 9 years. It noted prior to the marriage Spolum made $46,000 annually as a flight attendant. The court stated the evidence only supported a rehabilitative award.

The court also stated the trial court failed to consider Spolum’s dubious use of assets during the separation where she transferred $125,000 from the parties’ joint account and only had $40,000 left.

The  court stated the trial court’s finding of the need for discretionary spending of $8,343 per month was excessive. The court also found the trial court clearly erred in finding D’Amato’s income was $950,838 and that spousal maintenance should be based on the obligor’s income at the time of trial. The court noted it was unreasonable for a court to require D’Amato to work a second job in order to satisfy a maintenance award when Spolum is not required to work even one job.

The issue of spousal maintenance is a very difficult matter and requires careful evaluation of numerous factors and often the assistance of experts, including an experienced family law attorney. It is critical to promptly retain an experienced divorce lawyer if spousal maintenance is a potential issue.

Anti-Palimony Statute Does Not Bar Claim For One-Half Interest In Property Listed As Joint-Tenant

In Lendzyk vs.Wrazidlo, A14-1331 (Minn. App .July 13, 2015) the Minnesota Court of Appeals interpreted the Minnesota Anti-Palimony statute in an appeal involving a couple who were dating and commingled money in a new home they built. Boyfriend Lendzyk and girlfriend Wrazidlo began dating in 2006. At that time each owned a home in northern Minnesota. Girlfriend sold home and moved into boyfriend’s home with her two children. They then decided to build a home together. In 2008 girlfriend bought a lot, title to lot was recorded in her name and she financed a construction loan for the home.

After the construction was completed the parties arranged to refinance the construction loan. The loan was refinanced into joint tenancy and both parties signed a mortgage identifying them as joint tenants and girlfriend signed a quit claim deed that conveyed her interest in the property to herself  and boyfriend as joint tenants.

The relationship ended in 2010. In 2012 the boyfriend brought a partition action claiming one-half interest in the property requesting the property be sold and the proceeds be divided between the parties. Testimony was taken that since girlfriend sold her home she would initially buy the lot and pay the majority of the construction costs. After the home was built boyfriend would pay the refinancing cost and then pay for mortgage and insurance. The parties looked at and selected the lot together. Boyfriend testified that the parties agreement was to own the property together, build it together and start a family together. He was going to become more financially involved once he sold his home. Boyfriend paid $10,532 toward closing costs and made monthly mortgage payments and property insurance from 2008 to 2010, which together totaled $77,323. Girlfriend presented evidence she had put $201,171 towards purchasing the property and improvements.

Trial court found anti-palimony statute did not bar boyfriend’s claim to an interest in property and found that as joint tenants, the property should be sold and the proceeds equally divided.

On appeal the court interpreted the anti-palimony statute, Minn. Stat.  513.075, which in part provides that a contract between a man and woman living together out of wedlock is enforceable only if: (1) the contract is written and signed by the parties, and (2) enforcement is sought after termination of their relationship.  Minn. Stat. 513.076 states that unless a contract is executed complying with Minn. Stat. 513.075 a court is without jurisdiction to hear the matter and shall dismiss it as against public policy.

The court appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision citing to two other cases. In, In re Estate of Ericksen, 337 N. W. 2d 671, 674 (Minn. 1983) the supreme court held that even though cohabitants had not signed a contract detailing their financial arrangements regarding a home and it was solely titled in on party’s name, the probate court properly considered an unjust enrichment claim to a one-half interest in home where both parties equally contributed to the purchase and maintaining the home. In another case In re Palmen, 588 N.W. 2d 493 495 (Minn. 1999) two cohabitants agreed to built a log cabin together on a lot owned by Palmen.  After Palmen died cohabitant Schneider claimed an interest in log cabin stating it was agreed if their relationship ended she would be reimbursed her investment for labor and financial contributions to the log cabin’s construction. The trial court denied the claim, but the supreme court reversed holding the anti-palimony statute does not bar the enforcement of unwritten agreements between parties living together if a party can establish the agreement was supported by consideration independent of the couple living together in contemplation of sexual relations out of wedlock and that the party is seeking to protect their own property and is not seeking to claim the property of the cohabitant. The court noted under the facts in the current case the party was seeking to protect his own property and it was supported by independent consideration unrelated to the cohabitation.

Girlfriend also claimed boyfriend’s interest should not be one-half, but limited to the amount of his contributions. The court stated if a property is held as joint tenants there is a presumption of equal property interests. The court found this presumption was not overcome based on the evidence. The trial court found girlfriend’s testimony that boyfriend pressured her to put his name on deed and mortgage was not credible and that the only other evidence presented to rebut the presumption of equal ownership was that girlfriend made greater contributions to the property.  The Court upheld the trial court’s decision to equally divide the sales proceeds in light of lack of other evidence to rebut the presumption.

In any property or relationship dispute it is prudent to seek representation and advice from an experienced family law attorney.

New Custody Law Factors Starting August 1, 2015

After years of debate Minnesota has substantially revised the “best interest factors” to determine Custody under Minnesota Statute 518.17, effective August 1, 2015. There have been meetings and substantial debate since 2012 on how the custody laws should be modified. An important overriding factor considered was to promote the best interests of the child by promoting the child’s healthy growth and development through safe, stable, nurturing relationships between a child and both parents. The factors now emphasize pieces that impact a child’s safety, stability and well-being and nurturing relationships. A shift now more explicitly looks at a child’s relationship with both parents.

The prior law included 13 factors and an additional 4 factors if either party requested joint physical custody. The new law now relies on 12 factors in each case.

1) How does a proposed custody arrangement impact a child’s development and a child’s physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual, and other needs? This is to focus on the child’s needs rather the parental requests as a factor.

2) A court shall consider any special medical, mental health, or educational needs of the child requiring special parenting arrangements. This is a whole new factor.

3) A court shall consider the reasonable preference of the child, if the court determines the child to be of sufficient ability, age, and maturity to express an independent, reliable preference.

4) A court shall determine whether domestic abuse has occurred in the parent’s relationship or household and the implications of the abuse for parenting and the child’s safety, or developmental needs.

5) A court shall also look at whether any  physical, mental or chemical health issue of a parent impacts a child’s safety or development.

6) A court shall consider the history and nature of each parents participation in providing care for the child. Appears to simply the prior primary caretaker factor.

7) A court is to look at the willingness of each parent to care for the child, to meet the child’s developmental, emotional, spiritual, and cultural needs and to maintain consistency and follow through with parenting time.

8) A court shall evaluate the child’s well-being and development of changes to home, school, and community.

9) A court shall evaluate the effect a proposed arrangement on realtionships between the child and each parent, siblings and other significant persons in the child’s life.

10) A court shall determine the benefit to the child in maximizing parenting time with both parents and the detriment in limiting parenting time with either parent.

11) Except when domestic abuse has occurred the court shall evaluate the disposition of both parent’s to support the child’s relationship with the other parent and to encourage and permit frequent contact with the other parent.

12) The willingness and ability of parents to cooperate in raising the child and to maximize sharing information and to minimize exposure to parental conflict as well as utilize methods to resolve disputes on major issues impacting the child.

The law changes are yet to be interpreted, but appear to make major shifts in emphasis on the child’s needs and yet to be broader in focusing on both parents.

In dealing with Custody issues it is always best to retain experienced legal counsel to be fully prepared to artfully advocate your concerns and interests. There are many decisions to made in custody disputes concerning the Process, Experts, Mediators or Litigation, which are best handled with the assistance of knowledgeable legal counsel.

Court-Ordered Grandparent Visitation Upheld in Minnesota

        The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently upheld an order awarding generous visitation to grandparents in A.B. v. Verzhbitskaya, A14-1656, (Minn. Ct. App.  June 15, 2015).  The Court held that a visitation schedule that provided the grandparents with one weekend and one weekday afternoon a month as well a weekly school visits, a nine-day summer visit, and daytime visits on both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve was not excessive.

 

Minnesota Statute 257C.08, subd. 1 (2014) provides that, when a parent of a minor child is deceased, the court may order reasonable visitation by the deceased parent’s parents (the child’s grandparents) if the visitation is in the best interests of the child and the visitation will not interfere with the relationship between the surviving parent and the child, and the court is to consider the amount of contact with the child and his/her grandparents before the parent’s death.  The courts have held that the grandparents bear the burden of proof that their visitation will not interfere with the parent/child relationship.

 

Understanding the Case

 

In this case, the child had turned eleven shortly after the father’s death, and there was no dispute that the visitation with the grandparents was in the best interest in the child.  In fact, there was testimony that a school counselor had encouraged the grandparents to visit the child at school during lunchtime.

 

Before the father’s death, the mother had sole physical and legal custody, and the father had parenting time on alternating weekends and Wednesday overnights.  The grandparents testified that they frequently saw their grandchild during their son’s visitation time.

 

The Court’s Decision

 

The Minnesota Court of Appeals first held that the amount of visitation time was not excessive.  It noted that the amount of time was significantly less than the amount of parenting time that the father had enjoyed when he was alive and it was consistent with the amount of contact that the grandparents had with their grandchild during the father’s lifetime.

 

The appeals court also found that the grandparents had met the burden of proof that their visitation would not interfere with the mother’s relationship with her child.  Although the mother had cultural concerns that the grandparents were interfering with her decision to raise her child in the Russian Orthodox Church and had taken the child to Catholic church, the court found that the grandparents had provided credible testimony that they would accommodate the mother’s concerns and they would no longer take the child to Catholic church if they had visitation.

 

The court completely disregarded the mother’s claims that the grandparents had interfered with her legal rights to her ex-husband’s estate, stating that those financial concerns were irrelevant to the parent/child relationship.  Thus, it is important that any claims of interference by grandparents focus on the relationship between the parent and child and not on financial issues between the parent and the grandparents.

 

Also rejected was the mother’s argument that other family members be barred from assisting in dropping the child off and picking the child up.  The court found the argument was forfeited because the mother did not provide any legal authority to bar others from facilitating the transfers of the child.

 

The court did reverse the district court’s decision awarding visitation to relatives other than the grandparents, such as the child’s aunt.  The court held that the statute limits visitation to grandparents, so there was no legal basis to extend independent visitation to aunts and other family members.  The court did note that the grandparents did have the right to allow other relatives to join with them in their visitation time.
Do you have questions about a family law issue, including visitation, support or custody? Be sure to contact an experienced Minnesota family law attorney for tailored guidance and counsel.

Minnesota Will Only Recognize a Foreign Marriage if the Marriage Was Valid Where Performed

The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently reversed a district court decision that had recognized a “cultural marriage ceremony” performed in Thailand because there was no evidence that the marriage was legally valid in Thailand.  Chang v. Yang  #14-1158 (Minn. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2015).  The Court of Appeals held that, to have a valid foreign marriage recognized in Minnesota, the marriage must have been valid in the place where it was performed, here Thailand.

 

The Minnesota Family Law Case

 

In this case, the two individuals had participated in a traditional Hmong wedding ceremony almost forty years ago while they were living in a refugee camp in Thailand.  They held themselves out as husband and wife until the wife filed for divorce, and the husband objected, claiming they were never married.

They both took oath before an American official stating that they were married, and then they immigrated to the United States in 1978.  They filed tax returns as “married filing jointly” for twenty-five years.  They had six children, all of whom were adults by the time their mother filed for divorce.

The appellant argued that they were not legally married because, although they participated in a Hmong cultural marriage ceremony, that ceremony did not meet the requirements of Thailand for a legal marriage.  He also said that the appellee was already married to another man at the time of the Hmong cultural ceremony.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals agreed with the appellant that a cultural marriage does not create a legal, valid marriage and that the district court was required to determine whether the Hmong cultural marriage would create a legal marriage in Thailand.  The Minnesota Supreme Court stated the following rule:   “The validity of a marriage is normally determined by the law of the place where the marriage is contracted.  If valid by that law the marriage is valid everywhere unless it violates a strong public policy of the domicile of the parties.”   In re Kinkead’s case, 239 Minn. 27, 30, 57, N.W.2d 628 631 (1953).

The Minnesota Court of Appeals found that the appellant had presented evidence that the cultural marriage was not a valid marriage, namely, material from the U.S. Embassy in Thailand that marriage requires in-person registration of the marriage in the local Civil Registry Office and that Thailand does not recognize common-law marriage.  The court noted that the parties did not have a marriage certificate, and there was no evidence that either party attempted to register the marriage with the Civil Registry Office.   The court found that they had taken an oath before an American official as part of immigration proceedings and that it did not appear that such an oath would support a valid Thai marriage.

The court, thus, remanded the case to the district court to determine whether the cultural marriage was valid under Thai law.

The court also required that the district court issue findings of fact and conclusions of law whether the respondent was entitled to  “putative spouse status,” as per Xiong v. Xiong, 800 N.W.2d 187, 191 (Minn. Ct. App. 2011).

 

Help with Minnesota Divorce
If  you need a divorce or are considering a motion to modify an order and judgment dissolving a marriage, you should consult an experienced Minnesota family law attorney.