DocketNumber: No. FA 98-0354755
Citation Numbers: 1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 2952
Judges: CUTSUMPAS, JUDGE.
Filed Date: 3/9/1999
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 4/17/2021
No children were born to the Wife since the date of marriage, however she did have one child from her former marriage who lived with the parties for a period of time. The child was the subject of considerable litigation between the Wife and her former husband.
The Husband is 52 years of age, in good health, and is a high school graduate. He has suffered from neck and back problems. The Wife is 37 years of age, in apparent good health, and is also a high school graduate. She attended college for 3 months and has a real estate license.
During the trial, the Husband testified that he brought into the marriage a Prudential Securities stock brokerage account containing $184,245.76 (Plaintiff's Exhibit D) and a Cargill 401k plan account with a balance of approximately $68,000 (no documentation of that account at the time of the marriage was produced). As of January 31, 1999, the balance in the Prudential account was $9,652.38 (Plaintiff's Exhibit E) and, as of December 31, 1998, the balance in the 401k account was $101,104.60 (Plaintiff's Exhibit L). The money brought into the marriage by the Husband was used to purchase and repair the existing marital residence, for ordinary living expenses, to assist the Wife with her catering business, and for expenses connected with legal disputes with her former husband.
The Wife testified that she brought into the marriage an $18,000 Paine Webber account, two checking accounts totaling approximately $2,500, and $44,000 from Bankers Trust, a total of 64,500. She produced some documentation (Defendant's Exhibit 8) indicating she was distributed money totaling $110,000 from a CT Page 2954 trust established by her grandmother. The money brought into the marriage by the Wife was apparently dissipated during the marriage on ordinary living expenses, legal expenses involving her former husband, outstanding bills, and expenses connected with her catering business.
At the time of the marriage, the Husband was employed as a commodities trader. Due to a physical disability he was out of work for about seven months. He then returned to the mercantile exchange to trade his own money on the exchange, a venture in which he was unsuccessful. During this period of time the parties lived off of savings, the Wife's earnings and what little money the Husband was able to earn. For the past year or so he has been employed on a commission basis as an executive recruiter. His income capacity is approximately $52,000 per year.
The Wife has been principally employed in her own catering business. She has also worked as an office manager, a baby sitter and at times cleaned houses. She has an income capacity of approximately $26,000 per year.
Three large joint debts were accumulated during the marriage, First Union in the amount of $12,607, First Union in the amount of $11,993, and Chase Visa in the amount of $4,300 (Husband's financial affidavit). The Husband also has a debt due his employer for draw against commissions not yet earned and the Wife has miscellaneous credit card debt totaling $2370 (Wife's financial affidavit).
It would serve no useful purpose to chronicle the causes for the breakdown of the marriage which is irretrievable. The Husband lost interest in the marriage due to the financial strain on the couple as well as the Wife's constant problems with her controlling ex-husband. It is not possible to assess primary responsibility for the breakdown although it is clear the Husband was more interested in terminating the relationship than the Wife.
The court finds that residence requirements have been satisfied and neither party has been the recipient of public assistance. All pertinent criteria outlined in Chapter
Upon sale, the net proceeds, defined as the balance after payment of real estate commission, closing costs, liabilities, and the amount due on the first mortgage, shall be divided as follows: $10,000 to the Wife and the remainder to the Husband.
The Wife shall vacate the residence within 60 days from date.
All furniture and personal possessions now located in the marital residence shall be equitably divided. Items brought into the marriage shall remain the property of the party who owned the item. In the event of a dispute over the division, the issue shall be submitted to the Court Services Division for mediation within 30 days from date and subsequently to the court for final determination if mediation is unsuccessful. Any items not removed by the Wife within 60 days from date shall be considered abandoned.
Plaintiff's counsel shall prepare the judgment file, have it certified by defendant's counsel, and file it with the court within 30 days.
CUTSUMPAS, J.