Appeals from the Decree entered August 17, 2009, in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Family.
¶ 1 In these consolidated cross-appeals, Jeffrey B. Balicki ("Husband") and Bobbi Balicki ("Wife") challenge the trial court's award of alimony to Wife and its equitable distribution of the marital estate in the divorce proceedings between the parties. We affirm.
¶ 2 The trial court ably summarized the pertinent facts and procedural history as follows:
Husband and Wife married in 1979. Two children were born of the marriage, and Wife, whose highest level of education is high school, devoted herself to caring for the children and being a homemaker. Husband is the part owner of an insurance agency as well as an attorney employed as a shareholder in a Pittsburgh law firm. The parties separated in 2005, and Wife promptly commenced this litigation by filing a complaint for spousal support. A three day complex support hearing before Hearing Officer Gary Gilman followed, during which Husband's expert witness opined that his net income was $21,000 per month. In March of 2006 Hearing Officer Gilman recommended that Husband pay Wife spousal support of $7,407 per month. Wife next filed a Complaint with counts for Divorce, Alimony Pendente Lite, Alimony, Equitable Distribution and Counsel Fees. By the summer of 2006 the parties' children had reached 18 and finished high school, and Wife obtained employment as an optician's assistant with gross income of $19,900 per year. The Honorable Lawrence Kaplan ordered that Special Master Patricia Miller try the economic claims, and she presided over four days of trial in October and November of 2008. Master Miller filed a Report and Recommendation a few weeks after the trial.
Master Miller recommended that Wife receive 65% of the marital property, alimony pendente lite of $7,407 per month until the receipt of 65% of the marital property and $5,540 of alimony per month until she reached the age 62 (she was age 51 and Husband 53 at the time of trial). Master Miller determined that the marital value of theinsurance agency is $610,590, refusing Husband's request to reduce it to $469,655 for the tax consequences and expenses of selling the business (see 23 Pa.C.S.A. §3502(10.1) and (10.2)). Master Miller recommended that Husband pay Wife $560,096 cash to achieve the 65-35 division, and that he do so in three installment payments with the final payment to be made within one year. Master Miller also determined the value of the household goods awarded to Husband to be $24,000.
Husband filed Exceptions to Master Miller's Report and Recommendation. With Judge Kaplan's retirement, the case was transferred to the undersigned before any decision on the Exceptions was made. We granted most of Husband's Exceptions. We decreased the cash equitable distribution payment from $560,096 to $405,557 by reducing Wife's share of the marital estate from 65% to 60%, by lowering the marital value of Husband's insurance agency from $610,590 to $469,655 to account for the tax ramifications and expenses of sale, and by cutting the value of Husband's household goods from $24,000 to $8,000. We also terminated the $7,470 per month alimony pendente lite order and directed that alimony of $5,540 per month begin. However, we declined Husband's requests for additional time to make the cash equitable distribution payment to Wife and for reduction or elimination of the alimony award.
[Wife also filed exceptions to Master Miller's Report and Recommendation. The trial court denied the exceptions.]
Trial Court Opinion, 11/6/09, at 1-3.
¶ 3 Husband filed an appeal at Docket No. 1148 WDA 2009, following the trial court's disposition of his exceptions. Because a divorce decree had not been entered, Husband filed a second appeal at Docket No. 1559 WDA 2009, following the entry of the divorce decree.1 Wife then filed a cross-appeal. Both the parties and the trial court have complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925. ¶ 4 Husband raises the following issues in his appeal:
A. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN FAILING TO REDUCE WIFE'S ALLEGED REASONABLE NEEDS AS CONTAINED ON HER FIFTH BUDGET SHEET TO HER ACTUAL NEEDS AS SUPPORTED BY THE RECORD?
B. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN FAILING TO REDUCE THE ALIMONY AWARD AFTER SUSTAINING HUSBAND'S EXCEPTIONS TO WIFE'S ALLEGED REASONABLE NEEDS?
C. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN SUA SPONTE TAX EFFECTING THE AWARD OF ALIMONY WHERE NEITHER PARTY RAISED THE ISSUE IN EXCEPTIONS OR CROSS-EXCEPTIONS?
D. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN AWARDING ADMITTEDLY INFLATED ALIMONY RESULTING IN IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE BY HUSBAND OF HIS EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OBLIGATION?
Husband's Brief at 2.
¶ 5 Wife raises the following issues in her cross-appeal:
V. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN DETERMINING THAT THE COST OF SALE AND TAX EFFECT SHOULD BE DEDUCTED FROM THE
MARITAL INTEREST IN J.E. BALICKI &
ASSOCIATES, INC. CONTRARY TO THE MASTER'S RECOMMENDATION.
VI. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN ORDERING A 60/40 DIVISION OF THE MARTIAL ESTATE, WHERE THE MASTER RECOMMENDED THAT THE ESTATE SHOULD BE DIVIDED 65/35 IN FAVOR OF WIFE.
VII. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT ORDERED THAT THE ALIMONY AWARD OF $7,470 SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY REDUCED TO THE ALIMONY AWARD OF $5,540, RATHER THAN RETAINING THE HIGHER ALIMONY PENDENTE LITE AWARD AS ALIMONY UNTIL WIFE HAS RECEIVED HER ENTIRE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION AWARD.
VIII. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT FOUND DIFFERENT FAIR MARKET VALUES FOR THE TANGIBLE PERSONALTY IN EACH PARTY'S POSSESSION THAN THOSE DETERMINED BY THE MASTER.
IX. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN REQUIRING LIFE INSURANCE TO BE MAINTAINED ONLY UNTIL ALL EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION PAYMENTS ARE MADE, RATHER THAN FOR THE DURATION OF THE ALIMONY OBLIGATION AS WELL, IN ORDER TO SECURE THE ALIMONY OBLIGATION.
Wife's Brief at 4-5.2
¶ 6 Because all of Husband's issues involve either the amount of Wife's reasonable needs or her alimony award, we will address them together.
¶ 7 Following divorce, alimony provides a secondary remedy and is available only where economic justice and the reasonable needs of the parties cannot be achieved by way of an equitable distribution. Teodorski v. Teodorski, 857 A.2d 194, 200 (Pa. Super. 2004) (citation omitted). An award of alimony should be made to either party only if the trial court finds that it is necessary to provide the receiving spouse with sufficient income to obtain the necessities of life. Stamerro v. Stamerro, 889 A.2d 1251, 1259 (Pa. Super. 2005). "The purpose of alimony is not to reward one party and punish the other, but rather to ensure that the reasonable needs of the person who is unable to support herself through appropriate employment are met." Miller v. Miller, 744 A.2d 778, 788 (Pa. Super. 1999) (citation omitted).
¶ 8 "Alimony is based upon reasonable needs in accordance with the lifestyle and standard of living established by the parties during the marriage, as well as the payor's ability to pay." Teodorski, 857 A.2d at 200 (citation omitted). An award of alimony may be reversed where there is an apparent abuse of discretion or there is insufficient evidence to support the award. Jayne v. Jayne, 663 A.2d 169 (Pa. Super. 1995). ¶ 9 In his first two claims, Husband asserts that, because the trial court granted his exception "to Wife's claimed reasonable needs and found that the needs as stated were over-inflated," the trial court "should have reduced her claim for reasonable needs and alimony award accordingly." Husband's Brief at 6. According to Husband, "Wife testified at trial that she was able to pay all of her bills plus have money left over to save." Id. He therefore asserts that, because Wife's testimony provides little or no evidence to support her stated needs, the trial court awarded Wife "a windfall of over $3,500 per month in alimony more than her needs support." Husband's Brief at 6.
¶ 10 Although the trial court did grant Husband's exceptions to the extent that it determined Wife's needs were over-inflated, the court found that the Master's failure to consider the tax consequences of the recommended alimony award rendered any error harmless. The trial court explained its rationale as follows:
One of Husband's Exceptions focused on the errors the Master made in finding Wife had reasonable needs of $8,635 per month. Because Master Miller accepted items in Wife's budget that were exaggerated, we sustained this Exception. However, the Master made another error by failing to consider Wife's income tax liability arising from the alimony. The income tax error nearly offset the reasonable needs error, hence we found that error harmless and left the award of alimony at $5,540 per month.
On appeal, Husband argues we made an error by not reducing alimony when we found Wife's reasonable needs were exaggerated. Husband appears to argue that the income tax consequences of the alimony award are irrelevant and can be ignored. However, consideration of the income tax consequences is mandated by 23 Pa.C.S. § 3701, which provides,
(b) Factors relevant-In determining whether alimony is necessary and in determining the nature, amount, duration and manner of payment of alimony, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including:....(15)The Federal, State and local tax ramifications of the
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