59 Conn. App. 452 | Conn. App. Ct. | 2000
Opinion
The plaintiff, Janet G. Hopfer, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dissolving her marriage to the defendant, Richard A. Hopfer, Jr. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court improperly (1) found that the defendant’s unvested stock options were not marital assets and therefore not subject to distribution, (2) awarded nonmodifiable time limited alimony for a period of eleven years and (3) awarded an inadequate amount of alimony, that is, $72,000 annually for two
The court found the following facts. After eighteen years of marriage, the plaintiff brought a dissolution action against the defendant. The defendant then filed a cross complaint
On December 18, 1998, the court rendered judgment on the cross complaint, dissolving the marriage on the ground that it had irretrievably broken down
The court found that from 1995 to November, 1998, the defendant was employed by Simon & Schuster, a
In October, 1998, a year and three months after the plaintiff served her complaint seeking a dissolution of the marriage, the defendant was employed by NetSelect, Inc., located in Westlake Village, California. He was its chief information officer with a base salary of $170,000 and a target bonus of 25 percent. He also received options for 75,000 shares of stock at $6.31 per share, which vest at the rate of 25 percent per year with an initial vesting date of November, 1999.
The court also ordered the defendant to pay to the plaintiff, as nonmodifiable periodic alimony, $6000 per month for twenty-four months and $4000 per month for an additional nine years.
The court also ordered the defendant to pay $480 per week to the plaintiff as child support for the two children until they both attain nineteen years of age or
The judgment did allow the defendant to retain his remaining assets consisting of life insurance having a cash value of $4010, a gold watch valued at $1500, a coin collection valued at $5000, and one-half of the furnishings with an estimated value of $12,500. For liabilities, the plaintiff listed $18,964 of credit card debt and the defendant listed $4050 of credit card debt and store charges.
The court also found, however, that the grant of stock options by NetSelect, Inc., to the defendant was made for future services to be performed after the final separation of the parties on September 3, 1996. Relying on Bornemann v. Bornemann, 245 Conn. 508, 752 A.2d 978 (1998), the court held that the NetSelect options were not marital assets subject to distribution pursuant to General Statutes § 46b-81.
I
The plaintiff claims that the court improperly found that the defendant’s unvested stock options were not
“Our review is guided by the well established principle that [t]he resolution of conflicting factual claims falls within the province of the trial court . . . [and] [t]he trial court’s findings are binding upon this court unless they are clearly erroneous in light of the evidence and the pleadings in the record as a whole.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Bornemann v. Bornemann, supra, 245 Conn. 527.
The plaintiff argues that Bornemann does not apply because the defendant in the present case voluntarily left his job, whereas the defendant in Bornemann was involuntarily terminated. We conclude that the claimed distinction was not pertinent to the decision in Bornemann. In Bornemann, the court determined that unvested stock options could be considered marital property. Id., 518-20. It further concluded that to be considered marital property, the “court must determine whether an asset was earned prior to or subsequent to the date of dissolution in order to determine whether the asset is marital property. This approach is common in other jurisdictions that have considered the extent to which unvested stock options represent marital property for the reason that state statutes commonly distinguish between assets earned or acquired prior to separation or dissolution and assets earned or acquired subsequent to separation or dissolution. In determining when unvested stock options were earned, or will be earned, the purpose for which the options were granted
The defendant’s employment with NetSelect, Inc., began on November 11,1998, approximately one month before the court rendered judgment in the dissolution trial. Furthermore, the first 25 percent of the options would not vest until November 11,1999. hiBomemann, the stock options were found to be awarded for past services. Id., 529. In the present case, however, the court found that the stock options were rendered entirely as incentive for future services and therefore were not considered marital assets subject to division.
II
The plaintiff next claims that the court improperly awarded nonmodifiable time limited alimony for a period of eleven years because it was inappropriate and inadequate under all the circumstances, including the duration of the marriage, the plaintiffs age, her work experience and the defendant’s responsibility for the breakdown of the marriage. We disagree.
“The standard of review of financial awards in dissolution appeals is well settled. Our role as an appellate court is not to retry the facts of the case, substitute our judgment for that of the trial court, or articulate or clarify the trial court’s decision. ... In reviewing the trial court’s decision under [an abuse of discretion] standard, we are cognizant that [t]he issues involving
“When awarding time limited alimony, the trial court need not make a detailed finding justifying its award. . . . Although a specific finding for an award of time limited alimony is not required, the record must indicate the basis for the trial court’s award. . . . There must be sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the spouse should receive time limited alimony for the particular duration established. If the time period for the periodic alimony is logically inconsistent with the facts found or the evidence, it cannot stand.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Ashton v. Ashton, 31 Conn. App. 736, 744, 627 A.2d 943, cert. denied, 228 Conn. 901, 634 A.2d 295 (1993).
The court found that during the parties’ marriage, the plaintiff taught school for two year’s in Arizona before her children were born.
Ill
The plaintiffs final claim is that the court’s award of alimony was inadequate. We disagree.
“As in the distribution of marital assets, the trial court is afforded broad discretion in making awards of alimony.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Milbauer v. Milbauer, 54 Conn. App. 304, 312, 733 A.2d 907 (1999). In the present case, the court ordered the defendant to pay to the plaintiff periodic alimony of $6000 per month for twenty-four months and $4000 per month for an additional nine years.
On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the alimony award of $72,000 per year for two years and $48,000 per year for the remaining nine years is inadequate in view of the plaintiffs needs and the defendant’s probable earnings at his new employment, $170,000 in annual salary plus a target bonus of $42,500. She focuses on one of the factors, “station,” which General Statutes § 46b-82
Agreements between parties regarding the postmajority education of children are required to be in writing. General Statutes § 46b-66; Hirtle v. Hirtle, 217 Conn. 394, 399, 586 A.2d 578 (1991). Furthermore, in Lowe v. Lowe, 47 Conn. App. 354, 704 A.2d 236 (1997), this court
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The case proceeded on the cross complaint
The parties stipulated that they shall have joint legal custody of their two children, twin boys born on January 14, 1981.
The court found that the value of the equity in the marital residence was $207,609. Prior to commencement of trial, the defendant transferred his undivided one-half interest in the residence to the plaintiff.
The court found that the primary cause of the breakdown in the marriage was the defendant’s three extramarital affairs.
That job required him to commute from Westport to New Jersey.
The provisions of General Statutes § 46b-86, modification of alimony or support orders and judgments, apply to this order.
The defendant was ordered to provide medical coverage for the minor children so long as he is obliged to pay child support. The court also adjudged that uninsured bill balances and deductibles shall be shared equally by the parents.
General Statutes § 46b-81 (a) provides: “At the time of entering a decree annulling or dissolving a marriage or for legal separation pursuant to a complaint under section 46b-45, the Superior Court may assign to either the husband or wife all or any part of the estate of the other. The court may pass title to real property to either party or to a third person or may order the sale of such real property, without any act by either the husband
Furthermore, in her brief, the plaintiff does not argue that the court improperly found that the stock options were awarded for future services. She simply claims thstBomemann should not have been applied in this case.
Both parties had agreed that the plaintiff would not work while the children were growing up.
Also, the plaintiffs commitment to raising the twins was to end when they graduate high school, presumably in June, 1999. By that time, the children would be eighteen, having attained such age on January 14, 1999. Pursuant to General Statutes § 46b-215 (a), they lost their status as minors
The alimony order was made subject to earlier termination if the plaintiff remarries, either party dies or if ordered by a court.
General Statutes § 46b-82 provides: “At the time of entering the decree, the Superior Court may order either of the parties to pay alimony to the other, in addition to or in lieu of an award pursuant to section 46b-81. The order may direct that security be given therefor on such terms as the court may deem desirable, including an order to either party to contract with a third party for periodic payments or payments contingent on a life to the other party. In determining whether alimony shall be awarded, and the duration and amount of the award, the court shall hear the witnesses, if any, of each party, except as provided in subsection (a) of section 46b-51, shall consider the length of the marriage, the causes for the annulment, dissolution of the marriage or legal separation, the age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate and needs of each of the parties and the award, if any, which the court may make pursuant to section 46b-81, and, in the case of a parent to whom the custody of minor children has been awarded, the desirability of such parent’s securing employment.”