804 N.W.2d 18
Minn. Ct. App.2011Background
- District court dissolved 80-year marriage, awarded wife permanent maintenance but did not set a step reduction; remanded to reconsider maintenance with retraining considerations.
- Husband earned about $525,000 annually as a TV news anchor; wife earned about $3,000 annually working part-time; wife has education in special education and teaching credentials.
- Wife’s post-marriage retraining potential: testimony suggested she could obtain special-education licensure after 125 hours of training and may earn about $86,000 once licensed.
- Golf-club membership valued at $17,000 by court, though evidence showed pre-dissolution purchase between $40,000–$50,000 and ongoing use; dispute over asset valuation.
- District court held it could not impute wife’s income for maintenance without a finding of bad-faith unemployment or underemployment.
- Appellant challenges both maintenance approach and golf-club valuation; court affirmed property division but reversed maintenance ruling and remanded for redetermination.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| May maintenance consider future self-support without bad faith? | Passolt argues statute allows considering post-retraining self-sufficiency. | Passolt argues improper requirement of bad-faith unemployment before considering self-support. | Remand; proper reading permits self-support consideration without bad-faith finding. |
| Is the golf-club membership valuation too speculative to finalize now? | Passolt contends valuation is too speculative and should be delayed. | Passolt contends valuation has an acceptable basis in record. | Valuation within acceptable basis; district court did not abuse discretion. |
Key Cases Cited
- Nardini v. Nardini, 414 N.W.2d 184 (Minn. 1987) (requires considerability of retraining to become self-supporting)
- Carrick v. Garrick, 560 N.W.2d 407 (Minn.App.1997) (imputation of income only after bad-faith underemployment shown; timing matters)
- Maurer v. Maurer, 607 N.W.2d 176 (Minn.App.2000) (applies Carrick logic to post-judgment context)
- Sand v. Sand, 379 N.W.2d 119 (Minn.App.1985) (rehabilitative vs permanent maintenance distinctions)