Bauerle v. Bauerle

• Decision Date: 17 May 2002
• Docket Number: No. S-01-318.,S-01-318.
• Citation: 644 N.W.2d 128,263 Neb. 881
• Parties: Jeanine M. BAUERLE, Appellee, v. Dirk A. BAUERLE, Appellant.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

644 N.W.2d 128

263 Neb. 881

Jeanine M. BAUERLE, Appellee, v. Dirk A. BAUERLE, Appellant.

No. S-01-318.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

May 17, 2002.

Larry R. Baumann, of Kelley, Scritsmier & Byrne, P.C., North Platte, for appellant.

George M. Zeilinger, Grant, for appellee.

HENDRY, C.J., WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, McCORMACK, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

HENDRY, C.J.

INTRODUCTION

Jeanine M. Bauerle and Dirk A. Bauerle were divorced pursuant to a decree of dissolution entered by the Chase County District Court on February 23, 2001. In its decree, the district court approved the Bauerles' property settlement agreement and awarded alimony to Jeanine. The court ordered Dirk to pay alimony in the sum of $1,500 per month for 120 months. The court further ordered that Dirk's alimony obligation would not terminate upon Dirk's death or Jeanine's remarriage. Dirk appealed. We moved this case to our docket pursuant to our power to regulate the Nebraska Court of Appeals' caseload and that of this court. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 24-1106(3) (Reissue 1995).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Jeanine filed for divorce on June 23, 1999. At the trial on January 8, 2001, Dirk and Jeanine presented a property settlement agreement covering all issues regarding marital property and debt. The district court then resolved the three remaining issues: (1) alimony, (2) delinquent temporary support payments, and (3) attorney fees. The only issue raised by Dirk on appeal is the district court's award of alimony.

Dirk and Jeanine were married on October 18, 1980, in Longmont, Colorado. Shortly after their marriage, they moved from Colorado to Chase County, Nebraska, where they lived on a farm owned by Dirk's family, and in which Dirk had received an ownership interest from his parents. Although Dirk and Jeanine lived on the farm for only 3 to 4 months, they continued to farm this property after moving into town.

Prior to the marriage, Jeanine had obtained a 2-year associate of applied science secretarial degree from a junior college in Colorado. However, Jeanine did not pursue outside employment when the couple relocated to Nebraska. Instead, she worked on the farm with her husband, driving tractors and trucks. She also cleaned her in-laws' home and tended to their yardwork. In addition, she generally bore sole responsibility for maintaining the family home, which involved cleaning, washing, cooking, and managing the couple's farm and personal bookkeeping.

After approximately 2 years, Jeanine stopped cleaning her in-laws' home, but she did not cease her work on the farm. Jeanine continued to drive a truck and a grain cart for the farm's corn and wheat harvests. She also operated tractors, pulled anhydrous ammonia tanks, helped irrigate fields, and ran farm errands. Jeanine received some payment for this work, but such payment was not made every year. When Jeanine was paid, she usually received $8 per hour. It was Jeanine's understanding that she was paid for her work because her compensation could be deducted from the farm's tax returns.

In 1988 or 1989, Jeanine enrolled in a quilting class. Soon after, she and her mother-in-law began to teach quilting. For approximately 10 years, Jeanine taught classes in quilting during the winter months when she had fewer farm and household duties.

In 1998, approximately 4 years prior to the divorce, Jeanine began part-time employment at a liquor store where she worked as a clerk and stocked shelves. She worked 10 to 20 hours per week and received the minimum wage, approximately $5.50 per hour. Jeanine's time at the liquor store was in addition to the hours she spent working on the farm and maintaining the family home. Jeanine managed this dual employment until filing for divorce in 1999, at which time she ceased working on the farm.

After filing for divorce in June 1999, Jeanine secured temporary employment with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Imperial, Nebraska. Her initial position with FSA involved filing and labeling map slides for $10 per hour. Although Jeanine had an opportunity "to stay on a little longer" with FSA, such extended employment would have necessitated "knowledge in computer work," which Jeanine felt she did not possess. Jeanine's employment with FSA ended in September 1999.

Near the time Jeanine left FSA, she also ceased her employment at the liquor store in order to assist area farmers with the fall harvest. She helped the farmers defoliate beets by operating farm trucks and tractors.

In March 2000, Jeanine returned to her part-time position at the liquor store. In addition, she secured a temporary seasonal job with a golf course, which paid $6 per hour. At the golf course, Jeanine mowed the lawn and worked in the clubhouse assisting customers. Between these two part-time jobs, Jeanine worked a combined total of 40 to 42 hours per week.

In January 2001, Jeanine was no longer working at the golf course because her position had ended with the arrival of winter weather. However, she was still working at the liquor store and had resumed teaching quilting classes. Jeanine charged approximately $30 per student for a 3-week course. Although the income from these classes varied depending upon the number of students, her class just prior to the divorce hearing consisted of 16 students, which netted approximately $350. Jeanine planned to continue teaching quilting on a monthly basis.

At the time of trial, Jeanine had not received any formal education since earning her 2-year secretarial degree almost 20 years earlier. Her secretarial experience was also limited to the time she had spent maintaining the couple's farm and personal records.

After filing for divorce, Jeanine considered pursuing employment possibilities at an insurance agency and a local school. However, the position with the insurance agency required "computer skills and computer knowledge" and would have resulted in less income than what she could earn at the golf course. The opportunity with the local school was not pursued after learning that the job description indicated that applicants with computer experience would be given preference.

Jeanine testified she desired business and computer training so she could secure a better job and start her own quilting business. She also testified she had limited financial resources and was waiting for funds from the divorce before enrolling in computer classes. She estimated the cost of these computer classes to be approximately $40 per credit hour at a local community college. Another option Jeanine testified she was considering was computer classes through the Internet which could result in a 4-year degree. She estimated this cost at $3,000 to $4,000.

Jeanine further testified that she had been living in a low-rent housing unit in Imperial since January 2000. The apartment rent was $225 per month, but Jeanine anticipated that the rent would probably change once she obtained her share of the property settlement agreement. She estimated that her income was $700 per month and that her expenses were $1,742.66, resulting in a shortfall of $1,042.66.

At the time of trial, Dirk was still working on the family farm with his brother and his parents. The family farming operation included livestock, together with crops consisting of corn, pinto beans, and wheat. Several farming entities, referred to as "D & D Bauerle, JV," "3-D Farms, JV," "Champion Valley Enterprises, LLC," and "B Barr Farms, Inc.," contained the various family members' interests in the farming operation. Many of Dirk's interests in these entities were given to him by his parents. In addition to these entities, Dirk and Jeanine also maintained their own personal farm account.

According to Dirk's balance sheet, his net worth at the time of trial, which included his interests in the farming entities, was $422,177. Dirk estimated that his living expenses were $1,936.60 per month. He also offered an amortization schedule for payments he is obligated to make on a $110,000 loan at 9 percent interest. Dirk stated that he must pay $1,393.43 per month for 10 years to retire the loan he incurred as a result of agreeing to provide Jeanine $110,000 as part of the parties' property settlement. Dirk also testified that his personal finances would be impacted due to the overall rising costs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation, repairs, and harvesting between 1999 and 2000.

Robert McChesney, a certified public accountant, testified on behalf of Jeanine regarding the Bauerles' tax returns from previous years. He testified that the Bauerles' 1998 and 1999 tax returns showed a significant decrease in adjusted gross income due to losses passing through the farming entities in which the Bauerles held interests. McChesney further explained that the cause of a reflected loss in Champion Valley Enterprises, one of the entities, was due to counting prepayments for feed and pigs as expenses without reflecting the market values on the entity's inventories. McChesney found that such prepaying of expenses distorted the Bauerles' recent tax returns because the losses were reflected but the income had not yet been included. Excluding the Champion Valley Enterprises loss, McChesney stated that the Bauerles' farm income was "fairly consistent with ranges" between $45,000 and $60,000 per year. McChesney also testified that the Bauerles would receive approximately $17,500 in refunds from prior tax returns due to "carry back loss" that resulted from their decisions in 1998 and 1999 not to claim "outright" the depreciation on purchases of new equipment, which differed from previous years in which they had claimed the depreciation "outright."

The district court entered the decree of dissolution on February 23, 2001. In it, the court approved the Bauerles' property settlement agreement. The agreement stated that Jeanine brought $1,500 in assets into the marriage, while Dirk brought approximately $41,000 in assets into the marriage. The...