Opinion ID: 2376137
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of Trial Court's Findings

Text: [¶ 8] Russell assigns the trial court error for its refusal to issue additional specific findings on Alice's earning capacity, Russell's contributions to the marital estate, and equivalence of the parties' economic circumstances. We review the trial court's findings of fact for clear error. Tibbetts v. Tibbetts, 2000 ME 210, ¶ 6, 762 A.2d 937, 939. The trial court's initial findings and conclusions run for sixteen pages; the court also issued post-judgment findings. Noting that Alice has duties as the custodial parent, the court also found Alice's voluntary underemployment to be a `lifestyle choice.' Weighing these factors, the court chose not to impute additional earnings to Alice. The record provides ample support for these findings and they are not clearly erroneous. Although the court considered the marital contributions of both parties, it chose not to make specific findings about those contributions. Russell's assertion that the court erred in not making specific findings on his marital contribution is without merit. The trial court took judicial notice of Russell's greater living costs, but denied admission of Russell's statistical evidence of those greater costs on the grounds that it was not in a position to make accurate comparisons of living costs in Lewiston, Maine and New York City. Based on this evidentiary ruling, it was not clear error for the trial court to refuse to issue Russell's requested finding.