Case Title: Jarvis v. Jarvis

Citation: 218 Kan. 679, 544 P.2d 1384

Docket Number: 47,838

State: kansas

Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Date: 1976-01-24T00:00:00Z

Document:
218 Kan. 679 (1976)
544 P.2d 1384
MARY C. JARVIS, Appellant,
v.
MELVIN L. JARVIS, Appellee.
No. 47,838

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed January 24, 1976.
Philip Shaffer, of Salina, argued the cause, and Frank C. Norton, also of Salina, was with him on the brief for the appellant.
Arthur B. Dillingham, of Salina, argued the cause, and John Q. Royce, of Hampton, Royce, Engleman and Nelson, also of Salina, was with him on the brief for the appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
OWSLEY, J.:
This is an appeal from an order of the district court modifying the amounts of unaccrued alimony payments originally awarded the plaintiff-appellant, Mary C. Jarvis. Plaintiff's principal complaint is that there was not a sufficient showing of changed circumstances to justify a modification of the earlier award.
Mary Jarvis was granted a divorce from the defendant-appellee, Melvin L. Jarvis, on September 8, 1965, on the ground of extreme cruelty. As part of the divorce decree Mary was awarded the custody of the three minor children; child support in the amount of $325.00 per month; various stocks and bonds valued in excess of $19,500.00; and certain described real estate commonly referred to as the "sand pit" property. As part of the property award Mary was granted the sum of $30,000.00 to be paid by defendant in quarterly installments at the rate of $500.00 per quarter until fully paid. In addition, she was awarded $10,000.00 in permanent alimony, payable in twenty semi-annual installments of $500.00 each, and terminable alimony of $500.00 per month to end upon her death or remarriage. Defendant Melvin Jarvis was awarded various stocks and bonds, his interest in the partnership of Mid-States Finance Company, all interest in several life insurance policies, certain described real estate, and personal belongings.
Defendant made full alimony and property settlement payments until May 21, 1970. On June 8, 1970, defendant filed a motion in the district court, pursuant to K.S.A. 1969 Supp. 60-1610 (c) (now *680 K.S.A. 1975 Supp. 60-1610 [c]), seeking a modification of the alimony judgment. Defendant's motion alleged a reduction or termination in alimony was necessary as a result of changed circumstances. The court heard the motion and made extensive findings and conclusions of law. It noted that since the issuance of the decree of divorce the circumstances of the parties had changed. Specifically, the court found that the parties' three children had attained the age of majority and child support payments had been terminated; that plaintiff had been employed as a teacher from 1966 until May, 1970, at which time she enrolled in graduate school; that plaintiff sold ninety-eight acres of the "sand pit" property for $140,000.00; that plaintiff had contracted to sell the remaining acreage but the contract was in default and completion of the sale was doubtful; that plaintiff's net asset value had increased to $131,570.00; that although there had been changes in defendant's financial condition resulting principally from the sale of the two subsidiary corporations and restrictions on the amount of salary paid to him, he had a very substantial asset in the Jarvis Construction Company which he started in 1950; that the deterioration in defendant's financial condition was not of a permanent nature; and that defendant had made no alimony payments since May, 1970.
Despite these changes in the parties' conditions since the date of the divorce, the court did not consider them of such a substantial nature as to justify or require a reduction in the alimony judgment. The motion was denied in its entirety.
On February 23, 1973, defendant filed another motion in the district court seeking a modification or termination of the alimony judgment. In support of his motion defendant alleged there were further changes in plaintiff's and defendant's circumstances since the filing of the previous motion to modify.
On July 13, 1973, a pre-trial conference was held and the parties stipulated to the following facts:
After hearing the merits of the motion and giving careful consideration to the evidence before it, the trial court adopted the stipulations and issued further findings of fact and conclusions of law which we quote in pertinent part:
..............
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"CONCLUSIONS
Based on these findings and conclusions the trial court issued its order modifying the alimony judgment. The original award of $10,000.00 permanent alimony was modified as to the balance of the judgment not due as of August 31, 1973, by reducing the amount of the semi-annual installments from $500.00 to $250.00 each and extending the time for payment. The original award of terminable alimony was reduced as to all payments not accrued as of August 31, 1973, from the original amount of $500.00 per month to $150.00 per month. In all other respects the original decree remained unchanged.
Plaintiff brings this appeal following a denial of her motion for a new trial. Although plaintiff designates six points of error on the part of the trial court as cause for a new trial, we believe her contentions boil down to a question of whether the trial court abused its discretion by ruling there had been a substantial change in both plaintiff's and defendant's circumstances, necessitating a modification of the original alimony judgment.
K.S.A. 1975 Supp. 60-1610 (c) governs the allowance and payment of alimony and authorizes the court to modify the amount or conditions for payment of alimony originally awarded but not yet due. The trial court is vested with considerable judicial discretion in making an award of alimony, and if alimony is awarded *684 at the time of the decree, future changes in the circumstances of the parties may be considered by the court at an appropriate time as a basis for modifying that portion that has not become due. (Folk v. Folk, 203 Kan. 576, 455 P.2d 487.) Our rule on review of a modification of an original alimony judgment is limited to a determination of whether there is substantial competent evidence to support the holding of the trial court.
At the time of the divorce decree plaintiff was awarded real and personal property with the approximate value of $123,000.00, not including her automobile, furniture, and personal belongings. The bulk of the property received was not income-producing. In fact, the "sand pit" property, while valued at $102,127.00, was considered a liability since the expenditures thereon exceeded the income it produced. Plaintiff also had the responsibility of raising three minor children. During her twenty years of marriage she had never worked outside the home.
Defendant filed a motion for modification of alimony payments in 1970. At that time the trial court did not feel the circumstances had sufficiently changed to order a reduction in the original alimony award. Plaintiff's assets were still of questionable value and while defendant's financial condition had worsened somewhat it was not considered by the court to be of a permanent nature. Subsequent to the date of defendant's first motion, significant changes occurred in the circumstances of both parties. After teaching school four years, plaintiff entered graduate school and obtained a master's degree in history in May, 1972. It was stipulated by the parties that plaintiff would receive a starting salary of at least $8,000.00 if she were employed as a school teacher. Furthermore, plaintiff no longer had to support any of the three children since they had all reached the age of majority. Over the years, plaintiff gradually liquidated her non-income producing assets and transferred the funds into stocks and bonds. She realized a substantial increase in the value of her assets by the sale of the remaining "sand pit" property which was considered a questionable asset at the time of the prior hearing. By August, 1973, plaintiff's net worth had increased to $134,353.00, plus an additional $40,000.00 in unpaid judgments against defendant. At the time of the last hearing plaintiff was receiving an annual return of approximately $9,600.00 from her securities and investments.
Turning to defendant, the record discloses he was in arrears in *685 alimony payments in the sum of $23,000.00; his indebtedness had materially increased since the date of the previous hearing; his salary was limited to $40,000.00 per year for the foreseeable future; and his annual expenses were from $35,000.00 to $38,000.00, not including any payments to plaintiff.
We conclude there is substantial competent evidence to support the extensive findings of fact and conclusions of law made by the trial court and the judgment of the court is affirmed.