Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/20/437.html
Timestamp: 2019-08-19 16:36:03
Document Index: 701930425

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 30', '§ 3', '§ 139', '§ 5', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 8', '§ 3', '§ 28', '§ 3', '§ 4801']

In re Marriage of Morrison :: :: Supreme Court of California Decisions :: California Case Law :: California Law :: US Law :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › California Case Law › Cal. 3d › Volume 20 › In re Marriage of Morrison
In 1975, the husband petitioned the court for dissolution of the 28-year marriage. At that time he was 52 years old, and the wife was 54. At the dissolution hearing the wife testified, and the husband agreed, that she had no job skills or training and was then employed part time as a newspaper collator. She received $2.25 an hour for this work, with monthly earnings of approximately $100. The wife testified that she was being treated for a low blood sugar condition, that she had little energy as a result of this condition, and that she did not know whether or not she would be able to work full time. A financial declaration, which listed the wife's estimated monthly expenses at $946, was filed, and she testified [20 Cal. 3d 441] she might be able to "make it" if she received $700 or $800 a month in spousal support.
[1a] The wife contends that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to retain jurisdiction to award spousal support to her after 11 years. [20 Cal. 3d 442]
The courts of appeal are in disagreement as to the guidelines to be followed by a trial court in determining whether or not to retain jurisdiction to extend a spousal support order. In the leading case of In re Marriage of Rosan (1972) 24 Cal. App. 3d 885 [101 Cal. Rptr. 295], Division Two of the Fourth Appellate District reversed a judgment in which the trial court had dissolved a marriage of 17 years, had awarded spousal support to the wife for a period of three years, but had failed to retain jurisdiction to award payments thereafter. The Court of Appeal rejected the argument that "enactment of The Family Law Act constituted some sort of mandate by the Legislature to the courts to relieve husbands of any long, continuing obligation for spousal support." (Id., at p. 897.) Citing the well-established rule that "orders for changes in support to take effect in the future must be based upon reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence, not mere hopes or speculative expectations," the court concluded that the trial court had abused its discretion in failing to retain jurisdiction, since there was no evidence in the record to indicate that the wife would be able to support herself after three years. (Id., at p. 896.)
The next case to consider the issue of retention of jurisdiction to extend spousal support payments was In re Marriage of Dennis (1973) 35 Cal. App. 3d 279 [110 Cal. Rptr. 619]. Division Five of the Second Appellate District, in reviewing a judgment which terminated jurisdiction [20 Cal. 3d 443] after four years, found an abuse of discretion. The court stated: "It is possible that difficulties not contemplated at this time will frustrate even a good faith attempt by the wife to become wholly or partially self-supporting. Rosan ... certainly indicates that after a lengthy marriage a retention of jurisdiction to modify spousal support should be the norm and that the burden of justification is on the party seeking termination. [¶] That burden is not met here. The court had no real assurance that at the end of the four-year period the wife will be unable to show that in spite of sincere efforts on her part, she cannot support herself adequately. It was not warranted in burning its bridges." (Id., at p. 285.)
The reasoning set forth in Rosan and Dennis has been followed in a series of opinions. (See, e.g., In re Marriage of Cosgrove (1972) 27 Cal. App. 3d 424 [103 Cal. Rptr. 733] [Second Dist., Div. Two]; In re Marriage of Kuppinger (1975) 48 Cal. App. 3d 628 [120 Cal. Rptr. 654] [Second Dist., Div. Five]; In re Marriage of Wright (1976) 60 Cal. App. 3d 253 [131 Cal. Rptr. 870] [Second Dist., Div. Five]; In re Marriage of Kelley (1976) 64 Cal. App. 3d 82 [134 Cal. Rptr. 259] [Second Dist., Div. Four]; In re Marriage of Lovitz (1976) 65 Cal. App. 3d 299 [135 Cal. Rptr. 9] [Second Dist., Div. Five]; In re Marriage of Brantner (1977) 67 Cal. App. 3d 416 [136 Cal. Rptr. 635] [Fourth Dist., Div. Two]; In re Marriage of Norton (1976) 71 Cal. App. 3d 537 [139 Cal. Rptr. 728] [Fifth Dist.].)
Two Court of Appeal opinions, however, criticize and reject the language of Rosan and Dennis that (1) a trial court should usually reserve jurisdiction to extend spousal support orders where the marriage has been a lengthy one, and (2) the party seeking to terminate jurisdiction in such a case has the burden of showing that the financial needs of the supported spouse will be adequately met at the date proposed for termination of jurisdiction. (In re Marriage of Patrino (1973) 36 Cal. App. 3d 186 [111 Cal. Rptr. 367] [First Dist., Div. Two]; In re Marriage of Lopez (1974) 38 Cal. App. 3d 93 [113 Cal. Rptr. 58] [Third Dist.].)
In Patrino, the husband and wife had been married for 26 years, and the wife had not worked during the last 15 years of the marriage. Nevertheless, the appellate court affirmed an order in which the trial court had awarded a limited amount of spousal support to the wife for a period of one year and had not retained jurisdiction to award payments thereafter. In its per curiam opinion, the court set forth the following [20 Cal. 3d 444] rationale: "To carry such a burden too far would have the effect of destroying the purpose of the new Family Law Act to reduce the amount of courtroom litigation involved in settling the rights of the parties to a dissolution proceeding. [¶] Prior to passage of the Family Law Act, trial courts had ongoing jurisdiction to modify awards of spousal support. Now subdivision (d) of section 4801 of the Civil Code provides for absolute termination of spousal support unless the trial court in its original order retains jurisdiction to extend an order for support. The new law thus affords the trial court the discretion to determine if support should be absolutely terminated after a period of time. In this way, the court can settle the rights of the parties at one time and to some extent curtail endless modification proceedings." (In re Marriage of Patrino, supra, 36 Cal.App.3d at p. 189, italics omitted.)
The guidelines set forth in the Rosan-Dennis line of cases prohibit a trial court from terminating jurisdiction over spousal support after a lengthy marriage unless the record contains evidence that the supported spouse will be able to adequately support himself or herself at the time selected for termination of jurisdiction. The opposite is true if Patrino and Lopez are followed, since those cases permit a trial court to terminate jurisdiction over spousal support after a lengthy marriage even though no such showing of self-sufficiency has been made. The Patrino [20 Cal. 3d 445] and Lopez courts claim that the Legislature, in passing the Family Law Act of 1969 (Stats. 1969, ch. 1608, p. 3314, eff. Jan. 1, 1970), endorsed a policy of encouraging the termination of jurisdiction to reduce the number of future modification proceedings and to provide the parties with some degree of "post-dissolution economic stability." [2] However, a review of the legislative history does not support the thesis that the Legislature intended to authorize trial courts to disregard the parties' circumstances and terminate jurisdiction for either of these reasons.
Before the enactment of former section 139.7, the appellate courts held that a trial court retained jurisdiction to modify an alimony decree at any time during the payment period and it was not necessary to so state in the court's order. The right to extend the duration of such an award and the right to terminate it were part of this power. (See, e.g., Dahlstet v. Dahlstet (1969) 272 Cal. App. 2d 174, 178 [77 Cal. Rptr. 45]; Simpson v. Simpson (1955) 134 Cal. App. 2d 219 [285 P.2d 313].) The court was not able to divest itself of this authority to modify even if it so desired. (Harrold v. Harrold (1950) 100 Cal. App. 2d 601 [224 P.2d 66]; Soule v. Soule (1906) 4 Cal. App. 97 [87 P. 205].) Further, no relief could be granted after the specified term in the decree had passed, for the trial court's jurisdiction terminated on that date. (Reichardt v. Reichardt (1960) 186 Cal. App. 2d 808, 812 [9 Cal. Rptr. 225].) However, the court could retain jurisdiction to grant relief after that date by expressly reserving jurisdiction in its order. (See, e.g., Long v. Long (1941) 17 Cal. 2d 409, 410 [110 P.2d 383]; 2 The Cal. Family Lawyer (Cont.Ed.Bar 1963) §§ 30.137, 30.138, 30.141, pp. 1474-1476.)
The confusion, which was generated by these rules concerning the retention of jurisdiction, led to some unfortunate results for both spouses. Since the trial court was not required to take any affirmative [20 Cal. 3d 446] steps to retain jurisdiction during the alimony period, the supporting spouse was not necessarily given any express notice of the court's continuing jurisdiction to extend the period. For example, if an order provided for alimony for 10 years but did not make any reference to jurisdiction, the supported spouse could petition the court for additional years of alimony any time within 10 years. This could not be discerned by reading the court's order, so often the supporting spouse concluded that his or her obligation to provide alimony would terminate at the end of 10 years.
These rules benefited the supported spouse by providing for automatic retention of jurisdiction during the payment period. However, confusion as to how long the court retained that jurisdiction led some supported spouses to erroneously wait until the previously provided alimony had ended before petitioning for an extension. (See, e.g., Long v. Long, supra, 17 Cal. 2d 409.) Even though the request may have come only one day after alimony ended, the court was without jurisdiction to provide relief despite the fact the supported spouse's need may have been great.
To eliminate these prevalent misunderstandings of the parties concerning the trial court's retention of jurisdiction, the Legislature changed the decisional law by enacting former section 139.7. fn. 5 The trial court was required to expressly indicate in its order if it wished to retain jurisdiction. The supporting spouse was put on notice by the court's order that it had the power to extend the alimony payments. It is true that the supported spouse no longer received the benefit of the court's automatic retention of jurisdiction during the period for which alimony had been awarded. However, under the new statute, when the court did retain jurisdiction for an indefinite period of time, the supported spouse would no longer be precluded from petitioning for additional relief after the previously provided alimony had terminated. If the court retained [20 Cal. 3d 447] jurisdiction for only a limited period of time, that time period was expressly set forth in the order, so the supported spouse knew the time within which he or she had to petition for additional relief.
In short, the new statute clarified for both parties whether, and for what period of time, a court retained jurisdiction to extend an alimony order. It was to provide this clarification, not to curtail modification proceedings as Patrino and Lopez assert, that the Legislature enacted former section 139.7. fn. 6 [20 Cal. 3d 448]
There is nothing in the language of former section 139.7 itself to support the assertion in Patrino and Lopez that a trial court is authorized to terminate jurisdiction in order to curtail the number of future modification proceedings. That section merely set forth the changed procedures a court was to follow in order to retain jurisdiction. It did not specify the factors a court was to consider in determining whether to retain jurisdiction. The Legislature had already provided the trial courts with standards to guide them in making that decision. Former section 139, which had been enacted prior to former section 139.7, set forth the factors a court was to consider in determining both the amount and the duration of alimony. That section provided: "[T]he court may compel the party against whom the decree or judgment is granted to make such suitable allowance for support and maintenance of the other party for his or her life, or for such shorter period as the court may deem just, having regard for the circumstances of the respective parties ...." When the Legislature enacted former section 139.7, it did not change former section 139. The procedures governing retention of jurisdiction were changed but the requirement, that a court be guided by the circumstances of the parties in determining the duration of alimony, was not altered. Thus, it appears that the Legislature intended a court to be guided by those circumstances not only in setting the amount and duration of alimony, but also in deciding whether or not to retain jurisdiction. [20 Cal. 3d 449]
Undoubtedly the Legislature expected, as it had with the enactment of former section 139.7, that the changes made by the Family Law Act would reduce litigation. For example, by eliminating "fault" as a consideration in dissolution proceedings, the Legislature sought to reduce the "hate, scorn, bitterness and acrimony" which divorce proceedings had promoted. (See Assem. Com. Rep. on Assem. Bill No. 530 and Sen. Bill No. 252 (The Family Law Act), Com. on Judiciary, 4 Assem. J. (1969 Reg. Sess.) pp. 8053, 8057.) Certainly the Legislature hoped that diffusing these intense emotions would in turn reduce the [20 Cal. 3d 450] amount of litigation they had previously generated. Contrary to the assertion in Patrino and Lopez, neither the language nor the legislative history of section 4801, subdivision (d), or any other provision of the Family Law Act, evidences a policy favoring termination of jurisdiction over spousal support for the sole purpose of curtailing the number of future modification hearings. fn. 10
There are strong policy reasons why the Patrino-Lopez rule concerning termination of jurisdiction should not be approved. Although such a rule might reduce the amount of litigation, a desirable goal, that goal should not be achieved by permanently excluding from the courtroom spouses who are in need of financial support. As the court stated in Brantner, "[W]e quite agree that any procedure which reduces the amount of courtroom litigation is thoroughly commendable -- in the abstract. However, this concept, too, has its limitations. While the speedy disposition of cases is desirable, speed is not always compatible with justice. Actually, in its use of courtroom time the present judicial process seems to have its priorities confused. Domestic relations litigation, one of the most important and sensitive tasks a judge faces, too often is given the low-man-on-the-totem-pole treatment, quite often being fobbed off on a commissioner. ... [W]e begrudge the judicial resources necessary for careful and reasoned judgments in this most delicate field -- the breakup of a marriage with its resulting trauma and troublesome fiscal aftermath. The courts should not begrudge the time necessary to carefully go over the wreckage of a marriage in order to effect substantial justice to all parties involved." (In re Marriage of Brantner, supra, 67 Cal.App.3d at p. 422.) [20 Cal. 3d 451]
In 1969, the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary issued a report setting forth its intent in approving the Family Law Act. On the issue of support, that report states: "In awarding alimony or modifying a previous award, the court is directed to consider the duration of the marriage and the ability of the supported spouse to engage in gainful employment with due regard to the interests of any children of the parties. [¶] When our divorce law was originally drawn, woman's role in society was almost totally that of mother and homemaker. She could not even vote. Today, increasing numbers of married women are employed, even in the professions. In addition, they have long been accorded full civil rights. Their approaching equality with the male should be reflected in the law governing marriage dissolution and in the decisions of courts with respect to matters incident to dissolution." (Assem. Com. Rep., supra, 4 Assem. J. (1969 Reg. Sess.) at p. 8062.) [20 Cal. 3d 452]
Based on this review of the legislative history of former section 139.7 and the Family Law Act, this court agrees with the reasoning in Rosan [20 Cal. 3d 453] and Dennis concerning the retention of jurisdiction. A trial court should not terminate jurisdiction to extend a future support order after a lengthy marriage, unless the record clearly indicates that the supported spouse will be able to adequately meet his or her financial needs at the time selected for termination of jurisdiction. In making its decision concerning the retention of jurisdiction, the court must rely only on the evidence in the record and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. It must not engage in speculation. If the record does not contain evidence of the supported spouse's ability to meet his or her future needs, the court should not "burn its bridges" and fail to retain jurisdiction. (In re Marriage of Dennis, supra, 35 Cal.App.3d at p. 285.) To the extent that the Patrino and Lopez decisions contain language contrary to the views expressed in this opinion, they are disapproved.
In some cases the supported spouse may never be able to adequately provide for his or her needs. A wife who has spent her married years as a homemaker and mother may, despite her best efforts, find it impossible to reenter the job market. In such a case "the husband simply has to face up to the fact that his support responsibilities are going to be of extended duration -- perhaps for life. This has nothing to do with feminism, sexism, male chauvinism .... It is ordinary common-sense, basic decency and simple justice." (In re Marriage of Brantner, supra, 67 Cal.App.3d at p. 420.) The same will, of course, be expected of a wife in those cases in which a husband has devoted his time to maintaining the home and raising the children while the wife has pursued a career outside the home. [20 Cal. 3d 454]
[4] Although not unlimited, a trial court's discretion is broad in setting the amount of spousal support to be awarded upon dissolution of marriage. fn. 11 (See, e.g., Nunes v. Nunes (1964) 62 Cal. 2d 33, 38 [41 Cal. Rptr. 5, 396 P.2d 37]; Hall v. Hall (1954) 42 Cal. 2d 435, 442 [267 P.2d 249]; Webber v. Webber (1948) 33 Cal. 2d 153, 161 [199 P.2d 934].) At the time of the interlocutory judgment in this case, trial courts were authorized by statute to award spousal support to either party in such amount as these courts deemed "just and reasonable having regard for the circumstances of the respective parties, including the duration of the marriage, and the ability of the supported spouse to engage in gainful employment ...." (Stats. 1971, ch. 1675, § 3, p. 3602.)
In construing a predecessor statute (former Civ. Code, § 139), this court stated that the term, "circumstances," "includes 'practically everything which has a legitimate bearing upon the present and prospective matters relating to the lives of both parties.' (Lamborn v. [20 Cal. 3d 455] Lamborn, 80 Cal. App. 494, 499 [251 P. 943].) '[I]t refers to the needs of the parties and the abilities of the parties to meet such needs; and in measuring such circumstances, consideration should be given to property owned and obligations to be met as well as to ability to earn and actual earnings.' (Becker v. Becker, 64 Cal. App. 2d 239, 242 [148 P.2d 381].)" (Hall v. Hall, supra, 42 Cal.2d at p. 442.)
The trial court's omission is understandable. Until this court's supervening decision in In re Marriage of Brown (1976) 15 Cal. 3d 838 [126 Cal. Rptr. 633, 544 P.2d 561], nonvested pension rights were regarded as a mere expectancy, and hence not a property interest subject to division upon a dissolution of marriage. In Brown, this court concluded that nonvested pension rights do constitute a community asset subject to division. That decision was to be applied retroactively to any case in which the adjudication of property rights was still subject to appellate review. (Id., at p. 851.) Since this case falls within that category, the trial court must award the wife her interest in the nonvested pension. [20 Cal. 3d 456]
Relying on In re Marriage of Tammen (1976) 63 Cal. App. 3d 927, 931 [134 Cal. Rptr. 161], the husband contends that the community property of the parties was not equally divided, since the market value of the promissory note he received from the wife was less than its face value. Upon remand the trial court should consider the merits of this argument.
I concur in the judgment. I respectfully note, however, that the holding in In re Marriage of Lopez (1974) 38 Cal. App. 3d 93 [113 Cal. Rptr. 58], in which I concurred, neither favors "termination of jurisdiction over spousal support for the sole purpose of curtailing the number of future modification hearings" (ante, p. 450) nor promotes spousal self-sufficiency without regard to the realistic financial capabilities of the parties. On the contrary, the Lopez court determined that, given the facts of that case, the trial court had abused its discretion as to the amount and duration of spousal support ordered and accordingly reversed a judgment as to that award. In my view, the holding in Lopez does not contain language inconsistent with the broad policy expressions set forth herein and disapproval of Lopez is not, therefore, required.
FN 1. Counsel for the parties indicated to the trial court that the amount of the pension will increase as the cost of living increases. Since the wife was awarded a percentage of the pension, the dollar amount of her share will increase as the pension increases.
FN 2. Unless otherwise indicated, all statutory references are to the Civil Code.
FN 3. Section 4801, subdivision (a), has been amended since the trial court entered its interlocutory judgment in this case. The statute now lists numerous factors to be considered by a court in determining the appropriate amount and duration of spousal support. (See Stats. 1976, ch. 130, § 5, p. 247.)
FN 4. The judge who authored the Lopez opinion was the trial judge in the Patrino proceedings.
FN 5. In 1965, the Assembly Interim Committee on Judiciary released its final report on domestic relations. (See 23 Assem. Interim Com. Rep. (1963-1965) No. 6, Final Report of the Assembly Interim Committee on Judiciary, Relating to Domestic Relations (Jan. 11, 1965) 2 Appendix to Assem. J. (1965 Reg. Sess., First and Second Ex. Sess.).) As a result of that study, several bills were introduced in the 1965 legislative session; one of these, Assembly Bill No. 226, which was authored by Assemblyman George A. Willson, Chairperson of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, created former section 139.7. That section provided: "An order for payment of an allowance for the support of one of the parties pursuant to Section 139 shall terminate at the end of the period specified in the order and shall not be extended unless the court in its original order retains jurisdiction." (Stats. 1965, ch. 1109, § 1, p. 2755.)
FN 6. An Assembly Judiciary Committee synopsis on family law legislation contains the following statement regarding Assembly Bill No. 226:
FN 7. The Family Law Act does not use the term "alimony." "This word evoked an almost automatic glandular reaction, and the resulting accumulations of bile did nothing to ease the unhappy lot of counsel and court." (Attorney's Guide to Family Law Act Practice (Cont.Ed.Bar 1970) § 3.1, p. 138.)
FN 8. Former section 139.7 was originally recodified as former section 4801, subdivision (e). (See Stats. 1969, ch. 1608, § 8, p. 3334.) In 1971, former section 4801, subdivision (e), was renumbered section 4801, subdivision (d). (See Stats. 1971, ch. 1675, § 3, p. 3603.) For clarity, "section 4801, subdivision (d)" is used at all times herein when referring to the recodified former section 139.7.
FN 9. These two factors, as well as others, had long been considered by the courts in making support awards. (See 2 The Cal. Family Lawyer, supra, § 28.23, pp. 1333-1336; Attorney's Guide to Family Law Act Practice, supra, § 3.3, p. 139.) However, it may be inferred that by specifically listing these two, the Legislature intended that courts give them special consideration in determining the amount and the duration of support.
FN 10. In 1966, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Sr., established the Governor's Commission on the Family to examine California's family laws. The report which the Commission released was "significant in the evolution of the new Family Law Act." (Assem. Com. Rep., supra, 4 Assem. J. (1969 Reg. Sess.) at p. 8054.) Far from endorsing procedures which would direct courts to "spew out" domestic relations matters in order to save courtroom time, that report stated: "The Commission is convinced that if we are to begin to cope with this burgeoning problem [of divorce], our legal processes must be such as to permit a thorough examination into the real difficulties of the families before the Court. If the goal of the law is -- as we believe it must be -- to further the stability of the family, then the process of dissolving a marriage must be carried out in such a setting and in such a manner that the Court can fully inquire into the problems before it, and can bring to bear professional resources to ameliorate them. In short, the law cannot operate blindly; it must be able to act with an eye to the whole family situation, not just that of two parties. It must be able to take account of the total impact of the marital breakdown: upon the spouses, upon their children, and upon society as a whole." (Report of the Governor's Commission on the Family (Dec. 1966) pp. 5-6.) The report of the Assembly Interim Committee on Judiciary concerning marriage and divorce problems likewise expressed concern about the manner in which family law matters were "shuffled" within the courts. (23 Assem. Interim Com. Rep. (1963-1965) No. 6, supra, at pp. 83-84.)
FN 11. An order setting the amount of spousal support is of a different nature than one which terminates jurisdiction over support. (See, e.g., In re Marriage of Kelley, supra, 64 Cal.App.3d at p. 95.) In the latter case, a court by terminating jurisdiction loses forever its power to extend support payments, no matter what circumstances subsequently develop. A court's decision concerning the amount of support can, however, be modified at any time during the support payment period. (Civ. Code, § 4801, subd. (a).)