Shramek v. Shramek

• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: Suttell
• Citation: Shramek v. Shramek, 901 A.2d 593 (R.I. 2006)
• Decision Date: 29 June 2006
• Docket Number: No. 2005-83-Appeal.,2005-83-Appeal.
• Parties: Daniel J. SHRAMEK v. Gina M. SHRAMEK.

901 A.2d 593

Daniel J. SHRAMEK v. Gina M. SHRAMEK.

No. 2005-83-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

June 29, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Robert S. Parker, Providence, for Plaintiff.

Gina Shramek, pro se.

Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, SUTTELL, and ROBINSON, JJ.

OPINION

Justice SUTTELL, for the Court.

The plaintiff, Daniel J. Shramek, appeals from a Family Court decree distributing the parties' martial assets and awarding a lump-sum alimony payment to the defendant, Gina M. Shramek. Emphasizing the brevity of the marriage and his wife's "negligible" contributions, the plaintiff argues that the trial justice awarded the defendant an excessive share of the marital estate. He also asserts that the trial justice erroneously awarded the defendant a lump-sum alimony payment of $60,000.

This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument pursuant to an order directing the parties to show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not be decided summarily. After considering the written and oral submissions of the parties and examining the record, we are of the opinion that the issues raised in this appeal may be resolved without further briefing or argument. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm the decree of the Family Court.

Facts and Procedural History

The parties were married on September 8, 2001, in Bermuda. Daniel possessed considerable assets when they married, including a 1999 Audi A4, a retail music business known as Narragansett Disc, Ltd., and the Narragansett Pier commercial property in which the store was located. He also had a significant portfolio before their marriage, including a Charles Schwab account, an IRA account, and a Vanguard account, collectively valued at more than $5 million. Daniel said that Gina asked him "how much [he] was worth" and whether he was a "trust fund baby" before they wed. Gina said that she and Daniel discussed his finances only so that she could assure herself that she was marrying someone who was as hardworking and financially stable as she was.

Each party owned a home before the marriage. Daniel owned a home on Rodman Street and Gina owned a home on Old Boston Neck Road, both in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Shortly after their marriage, as part of an overall estate plan, Daniel executed a quitclaim deed changing the title to his Rodman Street home into a tenancy by the entirety in both of the parties' names. He said that Gina requested that he change the title soon after their honeymoon and that she paid no consideration for the transaction. According to Daniel, he changed the title so that the property would pass to Gina upon his death.

Gina, on the other hand, testified that she did not ask Daniel to add her name to the deed. She said that she originally wanted Daniel to move into her house and that she told him she would put the title to that property in both their names. She testified that Daniel persuaded her to move into his Rodman Street home instead, promising her that he would put her name on the title and fix it up until they could find a new home together. She testified that the couple looked into buying a new home during their marriage. Daniel denied that they seriously considered buying a new home. Gina also said that when she sold her home to move in with Daniel, the proceeds of the sale were placed into a trust fund in her name only.

According to Daniel, only minor improvements were made on the Rodman Street property during their marriage. He also admitted, however, that Gina's stepfather, Fred Brooks, helped to renovate the house on "several occasions." Gina testified that she and Mr. Brooks did extensive work on the home, including cleaning appliances, remedying a flood problem in the basement, painting, adding lighting fixtures, fixing a stairway, refurbishing closets, removing a moldy waterbed, sealing the walls and floors, adding shelving in the garage, repairing the deck, and redoing the yard. Mr. Brooks corroborated his stepdaughter's testimony concerning the work they did on the home. He said that he was not compensated for his work, but that the couple reimbursed him for materials. Both Gina and Mr. Brooks testified that Daniel did little to assist in these improvements. In addition, Gina brought most of the furniture from her old home and purchased other items to redecorate the parties' marital domicile. Gina testified that she also did most of the housework, yard work, and cooking while she and Daniel lived in the Rodman Street home. Daniel said, however, that he did a great deal of housework, weekly yard work, and most of the cooking.

Gina was a tenured teacher at Chariho High School before she married Daniel, earning $60,000 per year, plus benefits. She testified that she resigned from this teaching position on August 31, 2001, at Daniel's request, because he wanted her to be free to travel and said that he could take care of her financially. She said that she enjoyed her job, had a good rapport with her students and colleagues, and only had a few conflicts with the school's administration, which did not constitute the motive for her resignation. Carol Raheb, Gina's mother, also testified that Gina did not want to quit and had told her that she was resigning because Daniel wanted her to be free to travel with him. Another witness, Kerri Lariviere, an elementary school teacher who was a friend of Gina's, also testified that Gina loved her job and the students, had won awards for being a good teacher, and was not dissatisfied with her position at Chariho High School. Ms. Lariviere said that Gina similarly had told her that she resigned only to comply with Daniel's wishes.

Daniel testified that he only "suggested" that Gina quit teaching because she was "upset" with her job. He said that he assured her that they could afford for her to find another job that would make her happier. Teresa Tanzi, an acquaintance of the couple for four years, testified that before the parties married, although Gina enjoyed her students and was excited about teaching, she did have problems with the school's administration and was hoping to resign. Karri Thorkildsen, an employee of Daniel's music store, testified that Gina had told her that she wanted to resign because she "couldn't stand" teaching, the students seemed uninterested, and she was tired of the administration's "politics." Daniel further testified that in early 2002, when Gina decided that she wanted to pursue a career teaching yoga instead, he paid for her certification class and was "fully supportive."

In the summer of 2002, when Daniel was in Florida dealing with his father's estate, his wife informed him that she found a location for the yoga studio that she wished to open. Daniel testified that, although he told her not to make an offer on the property until he returned because he thought the price was a little high, Gina made an offer anyway. Gina said that her husband did not tell her that he was uncomfortable with the price and that he knew she was making the offer. The couple paid $95,000 for the commercial condominium from their joint checking account and the property was placed in Gina's name only. Daniel said that he did not object to the sale because it was so close after his father's death that he was not in the proper frame of mind to attempt to avoid the sale after Gina already had made the offer.

Although Daniel testified that the joint checking account was funded primarily by his premarital assets and that Gina contributed money to the account only once or twice, Gina suggested that she made more significant contributions to the account, including wedding gifts and her earnings from a part-time teaching job at the Community College of Rhode Island. Gina also testified that she inherited a beach cabana and $10,000 from her uncle during the marriage, and that she believed that Daniel deposited the money portion of the inheritance into the joint account.

In addition, while they were married, the couple purchased two vehicles for Gina's use. The first, a 2001 BMW X5, was purchased for $41,000. Two vehicles that Gina already owned at the time were traded in toward the purchase of the BMW. The balance due after the trade-ins was $19,000, which the couple paid out of their joint checking account. Gina testified that the second vehicle, a 2002 Porsche Boxster, was given to her by Daniel as a Valentine's Day gift in 2002. Daniel, however, said that he paid the Porsche's purchase price of $42,000 from his premarital assets contained in the joint checking account and that the car was not a Valentine's Day gift.

Daniel testified that as early as the summer of 2002, the couple experienced marriage problems. He said that he tried to improve things by relinquishing other commitments to spend more time with Gina and take her on vacations. In addition, the couple sought marriage counseling from two separate therapists. Daniel also testified that as of the date of trial, the collective balance on the various accounts he possessed before marriage had declined by more than $300,000. In addition, he said that his music store was scheduled to close on April 15, 2004, because of declining sales.

Gina indicated that at the time of trial, her yoga studio was operating at a loss, but that she also was making $200 per month as a part-time yoga instructor at another health club. She said that she would have taken over her mother's wig shop, but Daniel did not like the idea because it would interfere with his travel plans. Daniel denied this assertion. Finally, Gina said that she was actively looking for a teaching job at the time of trial, although at the time to no avail.

The trial justice issued a bench decision on October 14, 2004. After finding that the parties indeed had irreconcilable differences that justified granting each a divorce, the trial justice determined which assets were part of the marital estate. She decided that the marital estate...