Lead Opinion
delivered the opinion of the court:
Petitioner, Mary Anne Reynard, appeals the December 31, 2002, order of the Coles County circuit court dissolving Mary Anne’s marriage to respondent, Charles G. Reynard, and awarding Mary Anne maintenance in the amount of $1,600 per month until the first to occur of the following contingencies: (1) the death of either party; (2) Mary Anne’s remarriage; (3) Mary Anne’s cohabitation with another person on a resident, continuing, conjugal basis; or (4) completion of the January 1, 2013, payment. We affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
Mаry Anne and Charles were married on January 29, 1969. They had two children: Rachel born in 1977 and Meghan born in 1982. On March 6, 2001, Mary Anne filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. On December 31, 2002, the trial court entered a judgment of dissolution of marriage and an order that addressed maintenance and the division of assets.
Both Mary Anne and Charles earned college degrees. Mary Anne earned her degree in English and took all of the required undergraduate teaching classes. After graduatiоn from college, Mary Anne and Charles accepted teaching positions. Charles also attended law school at night. Upon graduation from law school in May 1974, Charles became a McLean County assistant State’s Attorney. The new job required the parties to move from Chicago to Bloomington/Normal, Illinois. Mary Anne, having just been promoted at Wells Recruiting Systems, quit her job and began work in Bloomington/Normal as a Hertz Rent-A-Car clerk and then as a child-care wоrker in a day-care center.
Mary Anne became a homemaker in 1977 after the birth of the parties’ first child, Rachel. In 1978, Charles entered the private practice of law. In 1979, Charles unsuccessfully ran for McLean County State’s Attorney. Mary Anne managed Charles’s campaign and cared for Rachel. To lend help financially, Mary Anne also became a part-time employee at the Regional Office of Education.
On October 14, 1982, Meghan was born. That sаme year, Mary Anne began hosting parties in people’s homes for the sale of country decorating merchandise. Mary Anne was successful and in one year earned $20,000 gross. She stopped hosting, however, after Meghan entered kindergarten in order to be home every night during the children’s school years.
After losing the 1979 election, Charles returned to private practice. In 1987, Charles was appointed as the McLean County State’s Attorney. He ran for elеction in 1988 and for reelection in 1992 and 1996. Mary Anne assisted in all three campaigns by setting appointments, distributing materials, and holding campaign meetings in the home.
Mary Anne testified her responsibilities for the care of the parties’ children did not allow for full-time employment. Charles acknowledged that in addition to being his most significant volunteer in political campaigns, Mary Anne was a good mother, helped out family finances through part-time employment, and had stuck with him through difficult times.
At the time of hearing, Meghan was a first-semester sophomore in college. Charles paid between $2,900 and $3,400 per month to Wellesley for Meghan’s schooling. This figure does not include other expenses such as medical and travel. Mary Anne was 54 years old and in good health. She did receive psychotherapy and massages for fibromyalgia. Mary Anne worked as the coordinator of volunteers and college interns at the McLean County Museum of History. She begаn the position in May 1999 and earned $29,819 per year. Prior to this position, Mary Anne had been a part-time special education teaching assistant at University High School for three years and a part-time teaching assistant at Metcalf Lab School for seven years. She never acquired a teaching license in Illinois because it was not required to teach as a special education teaching assistant and was not required in parochial schools. Charles was 56 years old and also in good health. He had recently won an election for circuit court judge of McLean County. His projected earnings were $136,546 per year.
The trial court assigned Mary Anne 52% of the marital assets valued at $346,495. The marital assets Mary Anne received included the parties’ marital residence valued at $166,000, a 1999 Honda CR-y a $1,082 Citizens Savings Bank account, and four Salomon Smith Barney accounts. Mary Anne received $48,404 in nonmarital assets, inсluding $11,167 in jewelry and a $37,237 reimbursement from the marital estate for the nonmarital contribution Mary Anne made to a Salomon Smith Barney account.
Charles received $319,487 in marital assets, including a home valued at $108,000 with an 80% mortgage remaining, four Salomon Smith Barney accounts, and the parties’ marital interest in a condominium lived in by the parties’ daughter Rachel. The condo is valued at $107,000 and also has an 80% mortgage. The trial court also awarded Charles a 1996 Ford Windstar and a 2001 Ford Tаurus. The Taurus has a car loan for its full $15,000 value. In terms of nonmarital property, Charles received quantities of stocks and funds acquired by gift, legacy, or descent from his mother, a $106,771 reimbursement from the marital estate, and $12,906 of nonmarital debt in the form of a campaign loan. The court noted Charles has paid nearly all of Meghan’s educational expenses to date, and he indicates a willingness to continue making those payments. The court ordered Charles to continue paying Meghan’s educational expenses and her car insurance. Finally, the court determined each party is entitled to 50% of the other’s retirement benefits to be paid through a QILDRO (qualified Illinois domestic relations order).
When fashioning the maintenance award, the trial court considered the parties’ financial-affairs affidavits. Mary Anne’s affidavit indicated her average monthly expenses were $4,527. Mary Anne prepared the affidavit on May 24, 2001, averaging her expenses for the prior 12 months, although the parties separated on July 10, 2000, and she filed for divorce on March 6, 2001. The affidavit included many expenses for Meghan, who resided with Mary Anne when she prepared the affidavit. Meghan now lives elsewhere. At hearing, Mary Anne admitted her income had increased since she had prepared the affidavit. Mary Anne also admitted some of her expenses were anticipatory, such as the amounts for replacing appliances, her education, and payments to the Internal Revenue Service. When she prepared the affidavit, Charles was paying all of her household bills, including medical bills and food. The court adjusted Mary Anne’s projected expenses for gardening, snow removal, household help, replacement of appliances, food, clothing, psychotherapy, lunch money, vacations, retirement plan, Internal Revenue Service, and America On-Line. The court determined a more realistic estimate of Mary Anne’s expenses at the time of hearing was $3,060 per month.
Charles’s financial-affairs affidavit indicates his monthly net income from all sources, including interest and dividend payments is $7,973. His total average monthly expenses are $8,542.38, including expenses for Meghan but not including a maintenance payment.
The trial court found that although the parties established a good standard of living during the marriage, they did nоt enjoy a lavish lifestyle. “They took vacations and provided a comfortable home for their two children. They maximized use of the automobiles and promptly paid their bills. Both Mary Anne and Charles have modified their lifestyles since their separation.”
At hearing, Mary Anne called Dennis Knobloch to present calculations of each parly’s net disposable, after-tax income at varying rates of maintenance. Knobloch testified that to equalize the parties’ net disposable incomes, the trial court should award maintenance somewhere between $3,700 per month and $3,800 per month. Knob-loch admitted his calculations were purely mathematical and did not consider statutory factors in determining maintenance. The court did not challenge Knobloch’s methodology in calculating the parties’ net disposable incomes, but it noted the analysis failed to consider Charles’s contribution’s toward Meghan’s cоllege educational expenses. The court awarded Mary Anne maintenance in the amount of $1,600 per month until the first to occur of the following contingencies: (1) the death of either party; (2) Mary Anne’s remarriage; - (3) Mary Anne’s cohabitation with another person on a resident, continuing, conjugal basis; or (4) completion of the January 1, 2013 payment.
The trial court found Mary Anne’s monthly net income, including the $l,600-per-month maintenance award, to be $3,040. In addition to this income, at the time of trial, Mary Anne received $300 per month from a boarder and a $3,547 federal income tax refund for the year 2001.
Notably, the trial court found:
“Charlest’s] [financial [ajffairs [ajffidavit seems to demonstrate an inability to pay maintenance in the court-ordered amount. Nevertheless, Charles has income-producing assets and a borrowing ability that will enable him to meet this obligation. A higher maintenance obligation would adversely affect his ability to meet his own needs, resulting in a greater sacrifice by Charles in his standard of living than by Mary Anne in hers. The $1,600 maintenance award affects the lifestyles of both parties, but avoids creating a substantial lifestyle deficit for either of them.”
II. ANALYSIS
On appeal, Mary Anne argues she is entitled to a maintenance award of $3,750 a month to equalize the parties’ net disposable incomes.
“Maintenance issues are presented in a great number of factual situations and resist a simple analysis.” In re Marriage of Mayhall,
When determining the amount and duration of a maintenance award, the trial court must strike a balance that is reasonable under the circumstances in light of the goals of section 504. This court in Mayhall considered whether the 1993 amendments to section 504(a) under Public Act 87 — 881 (Pub. Act 87 — 881, § 1, eff. January 1, 1993 (1992 Ill. Laws 1019, 1023)) changed the focus of the Dissolution Act. Mayhall,
We approach an award of maintenance with these goals in mind. The benchmark determination when awarding maintenance is the “rеasonable needs of the spouse seeking maintenance in view of the standard of living established during the marriage, *** the ability to become self-supporting, the income-producing property of a spouse, if any, and the value of the nonmarital property.” In re Marriage of Tietz,
Mary Anne argues she is entitled to a maintenance award that equalizes the parties’ net disposable incomes. Neither the Dissolution Act nor Illinois case law requires the equalization of incomes. 750 ILCS 5/504 (West 2000); In re Marriage of Claydon,
Equalization of the parties’ incomes may be appropriate in some cases. Marriage is a moral and financial partnership of coequals. In re Marriage of Hart,
Mary Anne made a significant contribution to the family during the parties’ 33 years of marriage by working part-time, raising the parties’ children, and managing Charles’s election campaigns. Mary Anne gave up her employment in Chicago to move to Bloomington/ Normal for Charles’s job as an assistant State’s Attorney. She gave up her successful stint as a hostess for the sale of country decorating merchandise to be with her children. She campaigned for Charles during the 1979, 1988, 1992, and 1996 elections for McLean County State’s Attorney. Although Mary Anne took all the requisite course work, she never obtained her teaching license.
Despite Mary Anne’s significant sacrifices and contributions, we cannot say the trial court abused its discretion by awarding Mary Anne maintenance in the amount of $1,600 per month. The facts of this case do not rise to the level necessary to equalize the parties’ net disposable incomes.
Mary Anne’s monthly expеnses at the time of trial were $3,060 per month. Her monthly net income, after factoring-in the $l,600-per-month maintenance award, was $3,040. Mary Anne has other means to meet her needs. Mary Anne also received $300 per month from a boarder; she got a $3,547 federal income tax refund in 2001; and the trial court awarded her $346,495 in marital assets and $48,404 in non-marital assets, including a $1,082 savings account, a $37,237 reimbursement from the marital estate, and four Salomon Smith Barney accounts.
The partiеs do have disparate earning capacities. See 750 ILCS 5/504(a)(3) (West 2000). Mary Anne worked part-time and raised the children while Charles pursued a career as an attorney. “[W]hen former spouses have grossly disparate earning potentials, the goal of financial independence may not be achievable because of the dependent former spouse’s inability to maintain the standard of living shared during the marriage.” In re Marriage of Charles,
A higher maintenance award would adversely affect Charles’s ability to meet his own needs. Charles indicated in his affidavit that his monthly expenses are $8,542.38 and his monthly income is $7,973. The trial court found Charles’s affidavit demonstrates he has income-producing assets and a borrowing ability that will enable him to meet a maintenance obligation of $1,600 per month. The court was concerned, however, with Charles’s ability to pay more maintenance than the court ordered. Both parties’ expenses exceed their incomes. Mary Anne, however, has no house or car payment and was assigned no debt. Charles must pay two mortgages, a car payment, college expenses for Meghan, and a $12,000 premarital campaign loan.
The trial court admitted the standard of living of both parties decreased after the parties separated. See 750 ILCS 5/504(a)(6) (West 2000). This can be expected to some degree because two houses are more expensive to maintain than one. During the marriage, the parties did not enjoy a lavish lifestyle. They took frugal vacations, maximized use of their automobiles, and promptly paid their bills. The court fashioned the maintenance award to avoid creating a substantial lifestyle deficit for either party. The court carefully considered the relevant evidence and achieved an appropriate balance between Mary Anne’s needs and Charles’s ability to pay. Considering the marital and nonmarital award, maintenance, and Mary Anne’s marketаble skills, we are confident she can achieve financial independence. If problems develop in the future, the maintenance award is modifiable under the provisions of the Dissolution Act.
Mary Anne requests this court reexamine Claydon because Clay-don does not follow the progeny of Illinois maintenance cases that came before it and Claydon places an inequitable burden on parties seeking spousal support. We do not reаd Claydon to foreclose or discourage equalization of incomes in appropriate cases. Claydon merely reemphasizes that neither case law nor the Dissolution Act requires equalization of incomes. Claydon,
III. CONCLUSION
The circuit court did not abuse its discretion when determining Mary Anne’s maintenance award. We affirm.
Affirmed.
Concurrence Opinion
specially concurring:
I concur and agree with this opinion in the determination that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dеtermining the maintenance award.
First and foremost, questions as to maintenance “ ‘are presented in a great number of factual situations and resist a simple analysis’ ” (
Our disposition makes it clear that the maintenance ordered by the trial court is subject to modifications pursuant to the Dissоlution Act. The dissent points to the present college expenses paid for Meghan’s education and the ex-husband’s substantial income in working and retirement years and concludes that maintenance should be set now at $3,750 per month and the ex-wife should be required to pay one-half of the college expenses.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. I would reverse the trial court’s award of maintenance as an abuse of discretion. Mary Anne was clearly entitled to additional maintenance. She contributed and sacrificed 33 years of her life as wife, mother, and campaign worker. She now has a much lower present and future earning capacity, unmet needs, greater age, lesser physical and emotional capabilities, and lowered standard of living. Moreover, she has clearly made a good-faith effort to support herself.
The trial court erroneously criticized Mary Anne’s expenditures and cast a blind eye on Charles’s affidavit and testimony. Mary Anne’s estimates were just as realistic as Charles’s. The court refused to require Charles to sell assets but required Mary Anne to do so.
Charles was ordered to pay Meghan’s college expenses of $2,900 to $3,400 per month to Wellesley plus expenses such as medical and travel. Even so, Charles will have substantially more disposable income during his working and retirement years than Mary Anne. At a minimum, Mary Anne should have received $3,750-per-month mаintenance with the responsibility of paying one half of Meghan’s expenses.
Although Illinois law does not require an equalization of net disposable income in large-income cases (Claydon,
For these reasons, the trial court’s award was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence and an abuse of discretion, and I would reverse.