Hood v. Hood

• Decision Date: 06 May 2011
• Docket Number: 2091016.
• Citation: 72 So.3d 666
• Parties: Kristi L. HOODv.Frank L. HOOD.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

72 So.3d 666

Kristi L. HOOD

v.Frank L. HOOD.

2091016.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

May 6, 2011.

Mary K. Simmons, Gadsden, for appellant.F. Michael Haney and Elizabeth Haney Mills of Inzer, Haney & McWhorter, PA, Gadsden, for appellee.BRYAN, Judge.

Kristi L. Hood (“the wife”) appeals from a judgment entered by the Etowah Circuit Court (“the trial court”) that divorced her from Frank L. Hood (“the husband”).

On July 17, 2007, the husband filed a complaint for a divorce from the wife. In his complaint, he alleged that the parties had married on December 28, 1998, that they had separated in April 2007, that one child had been born of the marriage in April 2000, and that the trial court should grant him a divorce from the wife on the grounds of incompatibility of temperament, mental abuse, and physical abuse. The husband sought, among other things: (1) primary physical custody of the parties' child; (2) an award of the parties' residence on Hood Drive (“the marital residence”), with an obligation to pay the mortgage on it; (3) an award of the “river lot,” with an obligation to pay the mortgage on it; (4) a division of the parties' personal property in accordance with an antenuptial agreement that the parties had signed on December 28, 1998; (5) an equitable division of the parties' debts; (6) an award of all of his bank accounts and his individual retirement account (“IRA”); and (7) an order finding that the issue of alimony is “moot and forever waived.”

The wife subsequently filed an answer to the husband's complaint and a counterclaim for a divorce, asserting adultery and incompatibility of temperament as grounds for the divorce. The wife requested (1) temporary and permanent custody of the parties' child; (2) temporary and permanent child support; (3) temporary and permanent alimony; (4) temporary and permanent exclusive possession of the marital residence; (5) an order requiring the husband to pay all the parties' marital debts; (6) an award of her attorney's fees; (7) and any other relief to which she may be entitled. The husband answered the wife's counterclaim for a divorce and asserted, among other things, that, pursuant to the parties' antenuptial agreement, the wife had no claim to alimony or the marital residence.

On October 10, 2007, the husband filed a motion for a partial summary judgment, alleging that the parties had entered into an antenuptial agreement, that the wife had waived all claims to the marital residence and to alimony or support in the event the parties divorced, and that he was entitled to a judgment in his favor regarding the wife's claims for alimony and an award of the marital residence. The wife filed a response to the husband's partial-summary-judgment motion and an affidavit in support of her response, in which she alleged that she had signed the antenuptial agreement under duress and that the husband had not made a full disclosure of his assets. On January 3, 2008, the trial court denied the husband's motion for a partial summary judgment.

After several continuances, the trial court, on March 13, 2009, conducted a hearing on the enforceability of the antenuptial agreement. The only testimony presented at this hearing was from the wife on the issue whether she signed the antenuptial agreement while under duress. The wife testified that she had met the husband in Natchez, Mississippi, when she was working as a registered nurse. There is an indication in the record that the husband is a doctor. At that time, the wife had custody of two children from a previous marriage, and the parties began living together in the wife's home in Natchez with her two children. The husband paid the mortgage on that residence while they lived together. After the parties became engaged, the husband moved to Gadsden, and, approximately one month before the wife and her children moved to Gadsden in the summer of 1998, the husband purchased the home on Hood Drive, i.e., the marital residence. After the wife moved with her children to live with the husband in the marital residence, she decided to make her home in Natchez available to rent.

The wife stated that the parties had never set a wedding date, but, she stated, at midnight on December 28, 1998, the husband asked her if she wanted to get married at the courthouse that day, and she agreed. The wife stated that she did not learn that the husband expected her to sign an antenuptial agreement until they were on the way to the courthouse to be married. According to the wife, the husband told her that they had to stop at his attorney's office to sign “the marriage papers” and it was not until she was at the husband's attorney's office that she realized that the husband wanted her to sign an antenuptial agreement. Apparently, the wife was shocked at the request and began crying.

The wife stated that the husband's attorney had discussed the antenuptial agreement with her, and she admitted that she had understood that in the event the parties divorced the husband “would reserve control over certain things that he had,” including the marital residence. The wife also testified that she had understood that she would not have a claim to the husband's IRA, pension plans, and stocks that he owned before the marriage, but she also stated that she did not know what pension plans the husband owned. The wife admitted that while she was at the husband's attorney's office she understood that she would not have a claim to the property listed in the agreement if the parties divorced.

The wife further testified that the husband's attorney had sent the wife and the husband to another attorney, “his good friend,” so the wife could review the agreement with a separate attorney. According to the wife, the husband was approximately 10 feet away outside an open door when she was discussing the agreement with her “independent” counsel. The wife stated that the attorney that she met with only browsed through the agreement because the parties were trying to make it to the courthouse before it closed. The wife stated that she was crying and was trying to whisper to the attorney because the husband looked mad and that she did not understand what the attorney told her. The wife testified that, initially, she refused to sign the agreement, so she and the husband left the attorney's office and returned to their home. According to the wife, the husband told her that he would not have the nerve to get married if she did not sign the antenuptial agreement. The parties subsequently returned to the second attorney's office, and she signed the antenuptial agreement.

The wife claimed that she did not know that the second attorney was supposed to be her attorney, and she stated that she did not understand that she had waived a right to alimony in the event the parties divorced. The wife stated that she was never able to read through the entire agreement, but she agreed that she knew that she was giving up rights by signing the agreement that she otherwise would have had if she had not signed the agreement.

According to the wife, her former husband had been threatening to take custody of their children because she was living with the husband in violation of their divorce judgment. The wife stated that the husband was aware of that fact, and the wife thought that, if she did not sign the agreement, she and the husband would not get married and there was a possibility that she would loose custody of her children. She stated that her children were ages one and three years old at the time she signed the antenuptial agreement and that she had no money and no place to live because her home in Natchez was occupied by renters.

The husband's attorney offered the parties' antenuptial agreement into evidence, but no other exhibits were offered or admitted during that hearing. That agreement states, in pertinent part:

“WHEREAS, the parties to this agreement contemplate entering into the marriage relation with each other, and;

“WHEREAS, [the husband], individually owns certain tangible and intangible property, a list of which is set out hereinafter in Exhibit ‘A’, the nature and extent of which has been disclosed to the [wife], and he desires that all property now owned or hereafter acquired by either [sic] shall be free, for purposes of testamentary disposition, divorce or otherwise, from any claim of the [wife], that may arise by reason of their contemplated marriage, other than as set out herein:

“NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

“1. Both before and after the solemnization of the marriage between the parties, [the husband] shall separately retain all rights in his own property, including all interest, rents and profits which may accrue or result in any manner from increases in value, and he shall have the absolute and unrestricted right to dispose of his property, free from any claim that may be made by the [wife] by reason of their marriage, and with the same effect as if no marriage had been consummated between them, whether such disposition be made by gift, conveyance, sale, lease; by will or codicil or other testamentary means; by laws of intestacy; or otherwise. Any property, real, personal or mixed, acquired after the date of said marriage shall be considered joint property unless agreed to in writing, signed by both parties.

“....

“8. [The wife] has examined the financial statements attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit ‘A’ and has had the opportunity to question and examine all items therein, and acknowledges that fair disclosure has been made by [the husband], as contemplated under the provisions of Section 43–8–72, Code of Alabama (1975), as amended. Each certifies that he or she has had an independent and separate counsel and has been independently advised and has been given, without limitation, all information requested. Each further certifies that counsel has...