In the Matter of Edward Kissell, Jr. and Martha Kissell ( 2016 )


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  •                     THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
    SUPREME COURT
    In Case No. 2014-0825, In the Matter of Edward Kissell, Jr.
    and Martha Kissell, the court on March 16, 2016, issued the
    following order:
    Having considered the brief, memorandum of law, reply brief, and record
    submitted on appeal, we conclude that oral argument is unnecessary in this
    case. See Sup. Ct. R. 18(1). We affirm.
    The respondent, Martha Mullen Kissell (wife), appeals a final decree of
    the Circuit Court (Geiger, M., approved by Kelly, J.) in her divorce from the
    petitioner, Edward J. Kissell, Jr. (husband), raising numerous challenges to the
    court’s decree.
    The trial court granted the parties a divorce based upon irreconcilable
    differences and awarded the husband primary residential responsibility and
    sole decision-making responsibility for the parties’ children. The court denied
    the wife’s request for alimony based upon findings that the husband does not
    have the ability to pay alimony and that the wife is able to support herself.
    The court ordered the wife to pay $50 in child support per month, to be
    deducted from the husband’s temporary alimony arrearage until the arrearage
    is paid. The court awarded the husband one of the two apartment buildings he
    owned prior to the marriage, but otherwise divided the marital estate
    approximately equally. The court divided the husband’s pension according to
    the Hodgins formula. See Hodgins v. Hodgins, 
    126 N.H. 711
    , 715-16 (1985)
    (superseded on other grounds by RSA 458:16-a, I (2004)).
    As the appealing party, the wife has the burden of demonstrating
    reversible error. Gallo v. Traina, 
    166 N.H. 737
    , 740 (2014). Based upon our
    review of the trial court’s well-reasoned decree, the wife’s challenges to it, the
    relevant law, and the record submitted on appeal, we conclude that the wife
    has not demonstrated reversible error. See 
    id.
    The wife also asserts that the marital master demonstrated bias against
    her. Based upon our review of the record, we conclude that no reasonable
    person would have questioned the master’s impartiality and that no factors
    were present that would have per se disqualified the master from participating
    in this case. See State v. Bader, 
    148 N.H. 265
    , 268-71 (2002).
    Affirmed.
    Dalianis, C.J., and Hicks, Conboy, Lynn, and Bassett, JJ., concurred.
    Eileen Fox,
    Clerk
    2
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2014-0825

Filed Date: 3/16/2016

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/12/2024