507 P.3d 986
Alaska2022Background
- Troy and Annette Rohde married in 1994, separated in June 2018, and have three daughters (one minor at trial).
- The couple owned a marital home. After separation Troy arranged a post-separation remodel/sale involving Yaroslav Lund (manager/contractor) and financier Thomas Tyler; the house sold for $364,500 but the marital estate received only $35,000.
- The superior court applied the AS 25.24.160(a)(4) (Merrill) factors, initially dividing most marital assets 60/40 in Troy’s favor, but it found Troy dissipated the marital home and offset that by allocating the parties’ $301,244 401(k) 70/30 in Annette’s favor — producing an overall division heavily favoring Annette.
- The court imputed income to Troy at $66,248/year (based on carpenter wages) and ordered child support beginning July 1, 2018, finding Troy voluntarily underemployed.
- Troy appealed the property division (dissipation treatment and valuation), certain property credits, the income imputation, the child-support arrearage start date, and alleged trial due-process/evidentiary errors.
Issues
| Issue | Rohde (Appellant) Argument | Rohde (Appellee) / Court Below Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment of post-separation dissipation in property division | Court erred by offsetting dissipation via unequal 401(k) split rather than recapture; inconsistent distribution | Court offset alleged dissipation by reallocating 401(k) to make remedy equitable | Vacated property division and remanded: court must follow recapture procedure (value asset at separation and credit responsible spouse) |
| Valuation of lost home equity | $276,000 figure (court’s calculation) is unsupported and clearly erroneous | Court relied on sale price less mortgage to infer equity lost to dissipation | Clear error: value at separation (not sale) controls; remand to determine correct separation value |
| Imputation of income for child support | Imputing $66,248/year is too high and ignores family/health constraints and licensing issues | Troy was voluntarily underemployed; evidence supports imputation at carpenter wage | Affirmed: no abuse of discretion and imputed amount not clearly erroneous |
| Child-support arrears start date and related payments; due-process/evidentiary claims | Arrears should not run from July 2018; trial procedures and evidentiary rulings denied fair process | Child support runs from separation; trial time/evidence rulings were reasonable or harmless | Child-support order affirmed; due-process and evidentiary complaints rejected as without prejudicial error |
Key Cases Cited
- Merrill v. Merrill, 368 P.2d 546 (Alaska 1962) (source of the Merrill factors for equitable property division)
- Jones v. Jones, 942 P.2d 1133 (Alaska 1997) (dissipation remedy is recapture: value at separation credited to responsible spouse)
- Oberhansly v. Oberhansly, 798 P.2d 883 (Alaska 1990) (distinguishing marital-failure "fault" from economic dissipation)
- Aubert v. Wilson, 483 P.3d 179 (Alaska 2021) (framework for proving dissipation and recapture burden-shifting)
- Ethelbah v. Walker, 225 P.3d 1082 (Alaska 2009) (elements for establishing post-separation loss of an asset)
- Thompson v. Thompson, 454 P.3d 981 (Alaska 2019) (requirements for imputing income where earnings history is not dispositive)