Bojarski v. Bojarski
2012 Me. 56
| Me. | 2012Background
- Robert and Keri Bojarski, married in 1997, have four children; divorce filed in 2010 and hearing held in 2011.
- Keri is a nurse earning about $45,000; Robert is a pilot earning about $130,000 and serves in the Ready Reserve.
- Robert has 23 years of military service, with roughly 13 years post-marriage; retirement benefits are based on points for reservists.
- Dispute over NFCU credit card debt balance and the parties’ conflicting evidentiary presentations at trial.
- Parties initially agreed to two dependent tax exemptions for Robert; court later failed to document exemptions allocation in the judgment.
- Judgment (June 21, 2011) split marital debt and property, but the court did not finalize certain tax, debt, and pension calculations; remand ordered.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proper method to calculate martial share of military pension | Bojarski argues for point-based accrual, not time-based, sharing. | Bojarski contends time rule is correct due to mixed active/reserve service. | Marital share must be based on retirement points, not solely years of service; remand for point-based calculation. |
| Accuracy of NFCU debt valuation | Court erred by accepting $28,000 as debt balance without competent evidence. | Debt value supported by record; $28,000 balance reflected in proposed documents. | Debt value found to be unsupported; remand to reevaluate debt amount with competent record evidence. |
| Allocation of dependent tax exemptions | Two exemptions should go to Robert per prior agreement. | Court may allocate exemptions per custodial arrangement; parties intended two to Robert. | Court erred by not allocating two exemptions to Robert; remand to implement agreed allocation. |
| Discretionary deviation from child support guidelines | Court should deviate for weeks with Robert’s primary custody in summer. | Court properly declined to deviate. | No abuse of discretion in declining deviation; affirmed on this point. |
Key Cases Cited
- Murphy v. Murphy, 2003 ME 17 (Me. 2003) (clear-error standard for property eligibility; de novo application of law)
- Warren v. Warren, 2005 ME 9 (Me. 2005) (marital share of retirement benefits governed by applicable law)
- Black v. Black, 2004 ME 21 (Me. 2004) (divisible military retirement benefits available upon divorce)
- Faulkner v. Goldfuss, 46 P.3d 993 (Alaska 2002) (points-based accrual for reservist retirement benefits; inequities of time-rule)
- In re Marriage of Beckman, 800 P.2d 1376 (Colo.App.1990) (points vs. years of service in apportionment of pension)
- Tapman v. Tapman, 544 A.2d 1265 (Me. 1988) (allocation of exemptions and court's equitable power)