Grumet v. Grumet

• Decision Date: 13 February 2007
• Docket Number: 2006-04350.
• Citation: 829 N.Y.S.2d 682,2007 NY Slip Op 01253,37 A.D.3d 534
• Parties: MARC B. GRUMET, Appellant, v. VIRGINIA M.T. GRUMET, Respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

37 A.D.3d 534

829 N.Y.S.2d 682

2007 NY Slip Op 01253

MARC B. GRUMET, Appellant, v. VIRGINIA M.T. GRUMET, Respondent.

2006-04350.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Department.

Decided February 13, 2007.

In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the plaintiff husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Gartenstein, J.H.O.), entered April 11, 2006, as directed him to pay the defendant wife nondurational maintenance in the sum of $16,000 per month, nontaxable to her, retroactive to September 13, 2002, and directed him to pay her attorney and expert fees in the total sum of $260,636.48.

Ordered that the judgment is modified, on the law and in the exercise of discretion, (1) by deleting the provision thereof awarding the wife nondurational maintenance in the sum of $16,000 per month, nontaxable to the wife, retroactive to September 13, 2002, and substituting therefor a provision awarding the wife nondurational maintenance in the sum of $9,000 per month, taxable to the wife, without any retroactivity, and (2) by deleting the provision thereof directing the husband to pay the wife attorney and expert fees in the total sum of $260,636.48 and substituting therefor a provision directing the husband to pay the wife attorney and expert fees in the total sum of $130,318.24; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs to the appellant.

Prior to the trial of this action, the parties entered into a stipulation of settlement dated September 21, 2004, which resolved all financial issues except maintenance, counsel fees, expert fees, and medical and life insurance. On January 13, 2005, the parties entered a separate stipulation which contained a provision stating, in effect, that the husband was able to pay any award of maintenance to the wife which, among other things, was consistent with the standard of living the parties enjoyed during the marriage. A trial on the remaining financial issues was held and, based upon the trial court's memorandum decision, a judgment of divorce was entered.

The amount and duration of maintenance is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court, and every case must be determined based on its own unique facts (see Domestic Relations Law § 236 [B] [6] [a]; Hathaway v Hathaway, 16 AD3d 458, 460 [2005]; Fridman v Fridman, 301 AD2d 567 [2003]). Although the trial court is required to consider the parties' preseparation standard of living in determining the appropriate amount and duration of maintenance (see Hartog v Hartog, 85 NY2d 36 [1995]), the court must also consider the reasonable needs of the recipient spouse and the preseparation standard of living in the context of the other factors (see Domestic Relations Law § 236 [B] [6] [a]; Hartog v Hartog, supra at 52; Palumbo v Palumbo, 10 AD3d 680, 681 [2004]).

Here, the trial court improvidently exercised its discretion in fixing the amount of maintenance awarded to the wife. The court focused almost exclusively on the husband's income and assets to the exclusion of all other factors. In so doing, the court failed to take into account the large distributive award the wife will receive, her substantial assets, and her ability to become self-supporting. In addition, the court failed to consider the wife's reasonable needs. Indeed, the wife's second statement of net worth listed monthly expenses of only $13,500.36 for two people. In fashioning the maintenance award, it appears that the court relied in large part upon the husband's representation ...