Opinion ID: 2402204
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Division of Property and Allocation of Debt

Text: [¶ 14] We review the divorce court's division of marital property and debts for an abuse of discretion. Bonville v. Bonville, 2006 ME 3, ¶ 9, 890 A.2d 263, 266. The division need not be equal, but it must be fair and just considering all of the parties' circumstances. Murphy v. Murphy, 2003 ME 17, ¶ 27, 816 A.2d 814, 822.
[¶ 15] Because Kim's own testimony indicated that she wished to have the apartment building, not the residence, the court did not abuse its discretion in awarding John the residence.
[¶ 16] Taking into account the financial effect of the judgment as a whole, see Tibbetts v. Tibbetts, 2000 ME 210, ¶ 10, 762 A.2d 937, 940, the court's decision to award to John his interest in the pension does not constitute an abuse of discretion. The court awarded Kim an income-producing property and personal property of substantially greater value than the personal property awarded to John. [¶ 17] Although the value of the personal property may have been inflated, Kim did not dispute the valuation of this property at trial and does not contest the court's valuation in this appeal. Because Kim acceded to the valuation of the personal property, and because she will be responsible for roughly half as much debt as John, and will receive $200 per week in spousal support plus monthly rental income from the apartment building, we conclude that the court's decision to award John his pension was not demonstrably unfair or unjust, considering all the circumstances of the parties.
[¶ 18] In arguing that the allocation of debt was roughly equal despite the parties' disparate incomes, Kim appears to overlook $16,000 in debt that John incurred to purchase a vehicle for the parties' daughter and the debt load each party will carry from the division of the debt on the real property: $120,000 for John and $60,000 for Kim. Although John's income is higher, Kim's share of the debt is not disproportionate in a way that renders the judgment unfair or unreasonable when viewed in its entirety.