Caroline Maier v. Siegfried Maier, 238 A.3d 681

In July 2018, Caroline Maier (wife) filed for divorce from Siegfried Maier (husband), who was under a guardianship.
In July 2019 the parties submitted a stipulated settlement agreement to the family court.
Wife then sought to withdraw her complaint and set aside the stipulation, filed a motion for summary judgment pro se, and changed counsel; the family court set oral argument.
On October 17, 2019 the family court denied wife’s motion to dismiss and ordered an evidentiary hearing under Pouech to assess the fairness of the settlement; wife sought interlocutory review and this Court accepted the appeal.
While the interlocutory appeal was pending, husband died, which abates a pending divorce because marriage is terminated by operation of law at death.
The Supreme Court dismissed the interlocutory appeal as moot, declined to resolve collateral questions about the settlement’s enforceability or proper forum, and returned the matter to the family division.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Maier)	Defendant's Argument (Maier / Estate / Guardian)	Held
Whether a competent plaintiff may dismiss her divorce against an incompetent spouse who wishes to preserve the marriage	A competent spouse may withdraw the divorce to preserve the marriage	Guardian/estate could oppose dismissal or protect the ward’s interests; court oversight may be required	Dismissed as moot due to husband’s death; court did not decide merits
Whether a guardian may pursue a counterclaim for divorce after the ward’s spouse initiates divorce	Wife argued dismissal should be permitted without a guardian counterclaim defeating her choice	Guardian argued it may pursue divorce on ward’s behalf or otherwise protect ward’s interests	Dismissed as moot; court did not rule on guardian’s counterclaim authority

Aither v. Estate of Aither, 180 Vt. 472 (2006) (death while divorce pending abates the action because marriage ends at death)
Pouech v. Pouech, 180 Vt. 1 (2006) (court must evaluate fairness of settlements affecting wards)
In re Moriarty, 156 Vt. 160 (1991) (mootness: issues are not live or relief cannot be granted)
White Current Corp. v. Vt. Elec. Coop., 158 Vt. 216 (1992) (decline to decide issues not presented below or not properly certified)
State v. Dreibelbis, 147 Vt. 98 (1986) (limits on addressing issues outside scope of interlocutory appeal)
In re Pyramid Co. of Burlington, 141 Vt. 294 (1982) (dismissing interlocutory appeals when issues are unripe and remanding for further proceedings)