John C. Fisher, Respondent, v Cathy Ann Fisher, Appellant.
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York
996 NYS2d 759
Egan Jr., J. Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Burns, J.), entered January 25, 2013 in Otsego County, ordering, among other things, equitable distribution of the parties’ marital property, upon a decision of the court.
Plaintiff (hereinafter husband) and defendant (hereinafter the wife) were married in 1966 and have two adult children. The husband commenced this action for divorce in 2011, at which time the parties’ primary assets consisted of three parcels of real property located within walking distance of one another in the hamlet of East Worcester, Otsego County; one parcel was improved by the parties’ marital residence, one parcel was improved by the husband‘s automotive repair garage and one parcel was vacant. In addition to the enumerated parcels, the parties also owned a number of motor vehicles, including a 1940 Dodge Street Rod.
Following a nonjury trial, at which the parties and various appraisers appeared and testified, Supreme Court awarded the marital residence (valued at approximately $87,000) and its contents to the wife and awarded the repair shop (valued at approximately $52,000) and its contents to the husband. To account for this disparity, Supreme Court awarded the husband several of the parties’ motor vehicles, while the wife retained her personal vehicle and certain shares of stock. Each party also retained any bank accounts held in his or her own name, and the cash value of the life insurance policies at issue—as well as the husband‘s pension—were to be divided equally.1 Supreme