Stevenson v. Stevenson, 83-550-A

• Decision Date: 26 June 1986
• Docket Number: No. 83-550-A,83-550-A
• Citation: 511 A.2d 961
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court
• Parties: Ronald E. STEVENSON v. Mercedes STEVENSON. ppeal.

Page 961

511 A.2d 961

Ronald E. STEVENSON v. Mercedes STEVENSON.

No. 83-550-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

June 26, 1986.

Judith S. Calcagni, Cranston, for plaintiff.

Lawrence P. McCarthy/Gerald C. DeMaria (Higgins Cavanagh & Cooney), Peter S. Haydon (Lipsey & Skolnik, Esquires, Ltd.), Providence, for defendant.

OPINION

SHEA, Justice.

This is an appeal from a divorce decree entered in the Family Court in which the trial justice granted the husband's petition and the wife's cross-petition for absolute divorce based upon irreconcilable differences that had caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage. ¹ The husband appeals from the court's assignment of property and from the award of alimony and counsel fees to the wife. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

Ronald and Mercedes Stevenson were married on August 14, 1963, and have been separated since July 11, 1982. There are three children of the marriage, two of whom were minors at the time of the court's decision.

Ronald was employed by the city of Cranston as a police officer throughout the course of this approximately nineteen-year-long marriage. In addition, Ronald also worked at several other part-time jobs at various times during the marriage. Mercedes worked primarily as a homemaker, but at times she was employed outside of the home on a part-time basis. She testified that although she had wanted to work longer hours, Ronald had objected because he felt she should be home to greet the children when they returned from school.

Without repeating the extensive testimony presented about the timing and causes of the demise of this marriage, we shall briefly relate the grievances underlying the parties' petitions. Ronald testified to a number of problems in the marriage, some of which he felt were caused by Mercedes and members of her family who evidently visited frequently and at times moved in with the Stevensons for several months at a time. He also believed that she was too lenient with the children and that she was a poor housekeeper. Mercedes testified that Ronald not only had consented to having her sister move in with them temporarily but had also asked her to do so. Mercedes stated that she was unaware of the sexual problems that Ronald had testified about except to the extent that she would reject his advances when he occasionally drank too much alcohol, and she testified that she suspected that he was having an affair with another woman.

After reviewing the evidence presented over the course of several days of hearing, the trial justice stated that he found Mercedes's testimony to be very credible and that he found "nothing wrong with the manner in which she conducted her home, her household or took care of the children * * *. In fact, I see nothing in the record to indicate any fault on her part." On the other hand, the trial justice determined that Ronald's occasional drunkenness and his relationship with another woman (regardless of whether it was platonic) were the causes of the marital discord.

On the question of the equitable distribution of the marital property, the trial justice found that there were two assets of substantial value. The first was the marital domicile located in Cranston, Rhode Island, which the trial justice found to be worth $45,000 and upon which there was an outstanding mortgage of approximately $5,000. The second asset was Ronald's pension fund that he had acquired in his service as a police officer employed by the city of Cranston. The pension itself had been admitted into evidence, and Mercedes had called Gerald Boulet, an actuary consultant, to testify about the present value of the pension. Boulet testified that he calculated that value to be $133,232.21. The trial justice rejected this testimony and found that the fund would "yield [husband] half his earnings at a certain age, plus a percentage increase for the years he works." The trial justice assigned the pension to Ronald, stating that it had been taken into consideration as a marital asset for the purposes of equitable distribution. The trial justice then assigned the marital domicile to Mercedes along with the household furnishings, with the exception of a couch and some tools that Ronald had requested. The trial justice also ordered Ronald to continue to pay the mortgage payments and taxes on the property until that obligation is satisfied, and he specified that these payments were to be considered alimony. Thereafter Mercedes would be responsible for the taxes and upkeep of the property. Ronald was ordered to pay to Mercedes $40 per week as additional alimony and $40 per week for the support of each of the two minor children. The trial justice also ordered Ronald to pay Mercedes's counsel fees.

On appeal, Ronald first objects to the trial justice's assignment of property. Ronald contends that the trial justice's finding that Mercedes was without fault is against the weight of the evidence. He next alleges that the trial justice erred in considering the pension fund to be a marital asset subject to equitable distribution because this fund is protected from assignment and attachment by state law and a Cranston city ordinance. Ronald argues that the trial justice erred in limiting his cross-examination of the actuary consultant who had been called to testify about the value of the pension and that there was not enough evidence upon which the trial justice could reasonably have ascertained its value. Asserting that if pensions are to be considered marital property subject to distribution, Ronald contends that only the total amount of his contributions to the fund during the course of the marriage should be deemed available for equitable distribution. Finally, Ronald asserts that the trial justice erred in awarding alimony and counsel fees to the wife without first assessing the reasonable needs of the parties and their relative abilities to pay.

Our equitable-distribution statute, G.L. 1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 15-5-16.1, as amended by P.L. 1982, ch. 403, § 1, sets forth guidelines that the trial justice must consider before equitably distributing the marital property. They are "(1) the length of the marriage; (2) the conduct of the parties during the marriage; (3) the contribution of each of the parties in the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of their respective estates; and (4) the contribution of either party as a homemaker." D'Agostino v. D'Agostino, 463 A.2d 200, 201 (R.I.1983); see also Sattari v. Sattari, 503 A.2d 125 (R.I.1986). The "guidelines require that consideration be given to the nature and quality of the marital assets as well as to each spouse's contribution to the value of the marital property." Wordell v. Wordell, 470 A.2d 665, 667 (R.I.1984). The trial justice is vested with wide discretion to divide the marital property justly and fairly between the parties. Id. Unless it is shown that the trial justice misconceived relevant evidence or was clearly wrong, this court will not disturb the trial justice's findings, Sattari v. Sattari, 503 A.2d 125 (R.I.1986), and Casey v. Casey, 494 A.2d 80 (R.I.1985), because as an "appellate tribunal, it is not our function to arrive at de novo findings and conclusions of fact based on the evidence presented at trial." Id. at 82.

We pause to observe again that the concept of equitable distribution is the product of a transformation in the way that the law has traditionally viewed marriage and treated its dissolution. The courts now recognize that marriage is, among other things, an economic partnership between two people striving to make a better life for themselves. Upon divorce, § 15-5-16.1 provides the factors that enable the court to recognize on a practical level the existence of that partnership, consider each spouse's relative efforts to foster it, and to divide fairly the assets of that joint enterprise. Rather than reduce the marriage to a mere accounting of dollars and cents, however, equitable distribution takes into consideration all of the tangible and intangible contributions each party has made over the course of the marriage. To that end, § 15-5-16.1 requires that financial and domestic contributions be placed in the balance, and we have acknowledged that fairness requires that the "essential supportive role played by a spouse who is not employed outside the home" be recognized as entitling that spouse to a "share of the family assets." Wordell, 470 A.2d at 667. Equitable distribution of marital property is intended to be no less than what its title suggests --a division of property that is equitable to both parties.

Our reading of the record reveals that the trial justice thoroughly examined the evidence relating to each of the statutory factors and that he did so in a well-reasoned manner. We conclude that there was ample evidence to support the trial justice's rulings on credibility and upon which he could base his conclusions relating to fault. Therefore, we find no error in the trial justice's preliminary findings of fact.

There were two major marital assets, the marital domicile and the pension. Ronald's assertion seems to be that because police officers' pensions are protected from attachment or assignment by G.L. 1956 (1985 Reenactment) § 9-26-5, ² this pension must be treated as separate rather than marital property. It is not clear whether Ronald suggests that all pensions must be held to be separate property. In any event, because this appears to be the first time that this question has been raised before this court, it is appropriate to explore the issue.

Although not cited by the parties, some precedent exists in this state for viewing pensions as marital property subject to equitable distribution. See Casey v. Casey, 494 A.2d 80 (R.I.1985) (where husband was awarded a portion of a vested pension fund at his former place of employment under the terms of the division of marital assets); Whited v. Whited, 478 A.2d 567 (R.I.1984)...