Craig v. Craig

• Citation: 595 S.E.2d 837,358 S.C. 548
• Decision Date: 22 March 2004
• Docket Number: No. 3766.,3766.
• Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: Cheryl Howard CRAIG, Appellant, v. William Rhett CRAIG, III, Respondent.

358 S.C. 548

595 S.E.2d 837

Cheryl Howard CRAIG, Appellant, v. William Rhett CRAIG, III, Respondent.

No. 3766.

Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

Heard February 11, 2004.

Decided March 22, 2004.

Rehearing Denied May 20, 2004.

Jean Perrin Derrick, of Lexington, and Stuart G. Anderson, Jr., of Greenville, for Appellant.

T. Preston Reid, of Greenville, for Respondent.

ANDERSON, J.:

The family court granted Cheryl Howard Craig (Wife) and William Rhett Craig, III (Husband) a divorce and divided the marital property. The court set alimony and child support, ordered the marital home be sold and the equity evenly distributed, granted Wife a special equity interest in several nonmarital properties, and awarded Wife attorney's fees and costs. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The parties were married in 1974, while Husband was in medical school. Soon thereafter, Husband commenced his service commitment to the United States Army and the couple was stationed in Alaska. They returned to Charleston, where Husband finished his medical residency. The parties later moved to Greenville, where they continue to reside. Husband and Wife have three children. At the time of the divorce, the oldest child lived at home as a result of injuries suffered in a childhood bicycle accident. The second child completed college, but was residing at home while searching for employment. The youngest child was a junior in high school and also lived at the marital residence.

Wife has a Masters Degree in nursing and has been employed as a critical care nurse. She has been fully employed for several years, though she worked part-time during a portion of the marriage. She earns approximately $60,000.00 per year. Husband is a partner in a medical group and specializes in internal medicine. While his income declined when his group separated, his income at the time of the hearing was approximately $200,000.00 per year.

The parties had significant marital property, including a house valued over $500,000.00 with equity of over $260,000.00, significant personal property, Husband's retirement account valued over $1.8 million, and savings and investment accounts. Husband had several nonmarital properties, which he inherited from his father. However, marital funds were used for some improvements on the property after the inheritance.

Wife filed this action for divorce and sought custody of the youngest child, division of the marital property, alimony, child support, and attorney's fees. Husband sought joint custody and admitted his responsibility to pay child support. Further, he sought equitable distribution of the property, including the marital residence. By consent at a temporary hearing, Wife received sole custody of the minor child and retained use of the marital residence. Husband agreed to pay child support in the amount of $900.00 per month and the mortgage on the residence of $3,425.00 per month. Wife was allowed to withdraw $20,000.00 to defray costs of litigation and other expenses.

Husband admitted adultery prior to separation, and this was the basis for the divorce. The court concluded alimony of $500.00 per month was warranted. Wife was permitted to remain in the marital home until the youngest son graduated from high school. Until that time, she received $850.00 in transitional alimony. Once the son graduated, the marital home was to be sold and the equity divided evenly between the parties.

The court found nonmarital assets owned by Husband were not transmuted into marital property, but that Wife was entitled to a special equity in the property. The court concluded marital funds were used for improvements and awarded Wife a special equity of $8,036.78.

The court further divided the remaining marital property equally. Wife was given the furniture, two retirement accounts, a savings account, and her vehicle. Husband was awarded some furniture, several accounts, his vehicle, and the boat. Husband's retirement account was divided such that the ultimate distribution was equal.

After considering the fault of Husband in the divorce, as well as the other appropriate factors, the court concluded Wife was entitled to a contribution towards her attorney's fees and costs. She was awarded a total of $21,370.00, with Husband receiving credit for half of the $20,000.00 that Wife was allowed to withdraw from an account pursuant to the temporary order.

Wife filed a motion to alter or amend the court's judgment, pursuant to Rule 59(e), SCRCP. The court determined the personal property was properly valued for purposes of equitable distribution. The requirement that the marital home was to be sold was reaffirmed; however, the judge extended the time until the sale was required. Finally, the last major amendment was to the amount of alimony. The transitional alimony was set at $3,000.00 per month and was to be applied to the mortgage and expenses of the marital home. It was set to continue until December 2003 when the marital home was to be offered for sale. At that time, the periodic alimony was ordered decreased to $875.00 per month.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In appeals from the family court, this Court has the authority to find the facts in accordance with its own view of the preponderance of the evidence. Rutherford v. Rutherford, 307 S.C. 199, 204, 414 S.E.2d 157, 160 (1992); O'Neill v. O'Neill, 293 S.C. 112, 359 S.E.2d 68 (Ct.App.1987). This broad scope of review does not, however, require this Court to disregard the factual findings of the family court. Stevenson v. Stevenson, 276 S.C. 475, 477, 279 S.E.2d 616, 617 (1981). Neither are we required to ignore the fact that the trial judge, who saw and heard the witnesses, was in a better position to evaluate their credibility and assign comparative weight to their testimony. Woodall v. Woodall, 322 S.C. 7, 10, 471 S.E.2d 154, 157 (1996).

ISSUES

I. Did the trial court err in failing to award sufficient permanent periodic alimony?

II. Did the trial court err in failing to award Wife ownership of the marital residence instead of requiring its sale?

III. Did the trial court err in failing to award Wife a sufficient special equity interest in Husband's nonmarital property?

IV. Did the trial court err in failing to properly value the personal property for inclusion in the equitable distribution?

LAW/ANALYSIS

I. Alimony

Wife maintains the trial court erred in awarding transitional alimony and not awarding a greater amount of permanent periodic alimony given the financial status of the parties and the lifestyle to which Wife was accustomed. We agree. Luculently, the dissolution of the marriage in this case resulted from the fault of the Husband. The Husband committed adultery pre-separation of the Husband and Wife. The adultery committed by the Husband destroyed this marital relationship. Indubitably, the Husband is at fault.

An award of alimony rests within the sound discretion of the family court and will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion. Dearybury v. Dearybury, 351 S.C. 278, 282, 569 S.E.2d 367, 369 (2002); Sharps v. Sharps, 342 S.C. 71, 79, 535 S.E.2d 913, 917 (2000); Hatfield v. Hatfield, 327 S.C. 360, 364, 489 S.E.2d 212, 215 (Ct.App.1997). "Alimony is a substitute for the support which is normally incident to the marital relationship." Spence v. Spence, 260 S.C. 526, 197 S.E.2d 683 (1973); McNaughton v. McNaughton, 258 S.C. 554, 189 S.E.2d 820 (1972); Johnson v. Johnson, 296 S.C. 289, 300, 372 S.E.2d 107, 113 (Ct.App.1988). "Generally, alimony should place the supported spouse, as nearly as is practical, in the same position he or she enjoyed during the marriage." Allen v. Allen, 347 S.C. 177, 184, 554 S.E.2d 421, 424 (Ct.App. 2001); accord Hickum v. Hickum, 320 S.C. 97, 463 S.E.2d 321 (Ct.App.1995)

. "It is the duty of the family court to make an alimony award that is fit, equitable, and just if the claim is well founded." Allen, 347 S.C. at 184,

554 S.E.2d at 424 (citing Woodward v. Woodward, 294 S.C. 210, 217, 363 S.E.2d 413, 417 (Ct.App.1987)). The family court judge may grant alimony in an amount and for a term as the judge considers appropriate under the circumstances. S.C.Code Ann. § 20-3-130(A) (Supp.2003); accord Smith v. Smith, 327 S.C. 448, 462, 486 S.E.2d 516, 523 (Ct.App.1997).

Factors to be considered in making an alimony award include: (1) duration of the marriage; (2) physical and emotional health of the parties; (3) educational background of the parties; (4) employment history and earning potential of the parties; (5) standard of living established during the marriage; (6) current and reasonably anticipated earnings of the parties; (7) current and reasonably anticipated expenses of the parties; (8) marital and nonmarital properties of the parties; (9) custody of children; (10) marital misconduct or fault; (11) tax consequences; and (12) prior support obligations; as well as (13) other factors the court considers relevant. S.C.Code Ann. § 20-3-130(C) (Supp.2003); Hatfield, 327 S.C. at 364,489 S.E.2d at 215. The court is required to consider all relevant factors in determining alimony. Epperly v. Epperly, 312 S.C. 411, 415, 440 S.E.2d 884, 886 (Ct.App.1994); see also Patel v. Patel, 347 S.C. 281, 290, 555 S.E.2d 386, 391 (2001)

(finding the trial court's denial of alimony was erroneous because the court did not address "several important factors" when determining no alimony should be awarded). No one factor is dispositive. Lide v. Lide, 277 S.C. 155, 157, 283 S.E.2d 832, 833 (1981). "Fault is an appropriate factor for consideration in determining alimony in cases where the misconduct affected the economic circumstances of the parties or contributed to the breakup of the marriage." Smith, 327 S.C. at 463,

486 S.E.2d at 523-24.

South Carolina law requires the court to award support sufficient to allow Appellant to maintain the standard of living the parties had themselves chosen and lived by during their marriage....