Opinion ID: 1837845
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Division of the estate.

Text: The divorce judgment divided the estate of the parties in the following manner: The following assets to the plaintiff: a. The homestead at 539 Hazel Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, subject to the existing mortgage indebtedness $8,557.00 b. The household furniture and furnishings in possession of the plaintiff 1,020.00 c. 1963 Oldsmobile station wagon 550.00 d. Life insurance equity on policies issued on life of wife, Barbara Tesch 294.00 e. Cash award to wife, Barbara Tesch 4,277.00 _________ $14,698.00 The defendant was given the option of paying the cash award over a four-year period in quarterly payments of $267.25 each, with six percent per annum interest on the unpaid balance, to be secured by a lien upon the property at 900 Winnebago Avenue, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, awarded to the defendant. The following assets to the defendant: a. All of the interest in art's Electric, Inc. $16,500.00 b. Duplex at 900 Winnebago Avenue, Oshkosh, subject to the mortgage 14,054.00 c. Chris-Craft boat, plus improvements, less mortgage 1,200.00 d. Household furniture and furnishings in the possession of the defendant 267.00 e. Life insurance equity  policies issued on husband's life 1,602.00 f. Fourteen-foot boat 50.00 __________ $33,673.00 Less cash award to plaintiff wife 4,277.00 __________ $29,396.00 The defendant was further ordered to pay all of the debts and obligations of the parties owing at the time of the commencement of this action. These debts and obligations were to include, among others, insurance premiums due, attorneys' fees incurred by the defendant, a dentist bill, a bill for improvements on the Hazel Street residence awarded to the wife, the appraisal fee and the 1970 property taxes on both properties. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay the fee of the guardian ad litem and make a $2,000 contribution to the fees of the plaintiff's attorneys and the total disbursements of $207.50. The defendant was to receive credit for $325 previously paid together with $165.35 held in the trust account of the plaintiff's attorneys for the benefit of the parties which was to be applied on the fees. This court has indicated that while arrearages under a temporary order for alimony and attorney fees and costs which the husband is required to pay do not constitute part of a wife's division of the estate, they are, nevertheless, a charge against the entire estate and should be deducted either from the gross estate in determining the net estate available for division of from the assets awarded to the husband. [1] Therefore, we must determine the actual percentage of the net estate awarded to the each party and decide whether the percentage awarded to the wife is so excessive under the circumstances as to constitute an abuse of discretion. [2] The plaintiff wife was awarded a total of $14,698. She also had to assume $500 worth of her own attorneys' fees. Thus her net award was $14,198. The husband was awarded $29,396 and obliged to assume all outstanding debts and $2,000 of his wife's attorneys' fees and $207.50 in costs. He had already paid $325 toward such fees and was allowed a credit of $165 which was in the plaintiff's attorneys' trust account. The plaintiff on this appeal does not dispute the accuracy of the defendant-husband's determination of the amount of outstanding indebtedness. This amount as set forth at page 8 of the husband's brief is $4,788. Thus the total liabilities of the husband amounted to $6,505.50 ($4,788 + $2,207.50$490). His net award was thus $29,396.00$6,505.50, or $22,890.50. The total net estate is $37,088.50. This figure is reached by adding together the net figures of the husband and wife, or adding $165 to the total assets found by the court ($44,094 + $165 = $44,259) and subtracting (1) the outstanding debts of the parties of $4,788, (2) $1,882.50, which is the husband's balance of the wife's attorneys' fees, and (3) $500, which the wife must assume of her attorneys' fees. Figured as a percentage of net worth, the wife's award of $14,198 is approximately 38.3 percent. The husband's award of $22,890.50 is therefore equal to approximately 61.7 percent of net worth. We must determine whether under the circumstances of this case the award of 38.3 percent of the net estate is so excessive as to constitute an abuse of discretion by the trial court. These percentage figures do not reflect the amount of the guardian ad litem fee, which the court also ordered the husband to pay. The court had not received a bill from the guardian ad litem at the time of the judgment and neither party indicated in his brief what the amount of the eventual bill was. Therefore, these percentage figures probably would shift slightly more toward a 40/60 split of the net estate. It is apparent from the written decision of the trial court that it was operating under those cases which were decided before the Lacey v. Lacey [3] Case. The pre- Lacey cases spoke of a rule that one third was a generous award to a wife and that it would be varied only if extraordinary circumstances called for a greater or lesser award. [4] The Lacey Case rejected any strict formula of proper apportionment of property and emphasized that each case must be decided on its own peculiar facts. In the present case the trial court stated: The parties were married for a little over fifteen and a half years and had three children. During a period of six to eight years of the marriage the plaintiff Barbara Tesch assisted her husband with respect to remodeling the Winnebago Avenue duplex and also in connection with the operation of the defendant Arthur Tesch's electrical contracting business. There was testimony that the defendant was required to pay additional expenses for housekeeping services during the latter part of the marriage due to ill health of the plaintiff. The defendant Arthur Tesch counterclaimed against his wife, plaintiff Barbara Tesch, alleging adultery to have been committed on her part, and on a separate jury trial of such issue the jury found said Barbara Tesch guilty of adultery, and, accordingly, an absolute divorce was awarded to the defendant Arthur Tesch, and no alimony is awarded to the plaintiff Barbara Tesch. There was testimony which would indicate that the fault for the breakup of this marriage did not entirely rest with the plaintiff, but that the conduct of the defendant also contributed to its final dissolution. In view of these factors, the Court finds that the suggested rule of property settlement made by the Wisconsin Supreme Courtthat being an award of one-third of the property of the parties to the wifeshould not be adjusted either way. However, the Lacey Case stated that: The responsibility of the trial court is to fairly, equitably and justly divide the marital property between the spouses, and where it begins is not crucial. It is where it ends that is to be reviewed on appeal. [5] Here, although the trial court did not precisely follow or use the Lacey guidelines, it did list the factors which it felt made its division of property an equitable result. It is now up to this court to determine whether in fact the division was a proper exercise of discretion. The defendant husband complains that the trial court did not take into consideration all the factors mentioned by this court in the Lacey opinion as factors which are material to the question of property division. Specifically, the defendant points out that the court did not mention the age and health of the parties, the liability of the husband for child support payments, or the employability of the wife. However, in the next breath the defendant states that he does not read Lacey as a prescription to consider certain factors. He thus recognizes that the question is whether the division can stand the test of fairness and equity. Of course, it is always possible that a trial court will apparently ignore some important factor which this court will consider justifies some adjustment. However, if this court is to find an actual abuse of discretion by the trial court we would first have to conclude that an award by the trial court, where such a factor is absent, was an abuse of discretion. In this case we do not think that the missing factors mentioned by the defendant would necessitate a shift in the division of the estate. The record shows that both parties are apparently in good health and relatively young (the plaintiff wife approximately thirty-seven and the defendant husband approximately forty-four at the time of the divorce). Therefore, no equity would appear in this respect to favor a greater or lesser award to either party. The husband is required to pay $300 per month in child support, but as the court recognized in its decision denying motions of the defendant husband for a modification of the judgment, custody was awarded to the wife. Thus the wife assumes a burden with regard to the children also which will involve monetary and emotional support. Although the wife was employed at the time of the divorce, she earned a minimal salary when compared to that of her husband. In its findings of fact the trial court found the wife earning $42 gross per week and the husband $850 gross per month. It could well be that the needs of the children would justify the plaintiff in not seeking any outside employment. Because the wife can earn some sum does not justify a conclusion that the wife is self-supporting and not in a relatively weak financial position vis-a-vis her husband. However, the main complaint of the defendant is that the trial court did not give enough weight to the fact that a jury found the plaintiff-wife guilty of adultery. The defendant, in his brief, feels that giving this factor the weight it deserves would lead to the conclusion that in this case any award greater than 25 percent is excessive and an abuse of discretion. In connection with this point, the defendant also claims that the trial court's consideration of misconduct on his part as a factor in the property division is reversible error under the facts of this case. We disagree. It is true that after the jury finding of commission of adultery, the plaintiff-wife withdrew her complaint of cruel and inhuman treatment. However, it is clear it was withdrawn on the understanding that the defendant-husband would continue to prosecute his counterclaim to judgment. Therefore, it is true that there was no trial and findings on the issue of cruel and inhuman treatment. However, the court's statement that the husband was not faultless was not based on the wild, unproven charges of the wife. On cross-examination before the court and jury the defendant-husband admitted that he struck his wife during arguments on a number of occasions. These resorts to physical violence began before the couple moved to their Hazel Street residence and long before the plaintiff met the man with whom the jury decided that adultery was committed. On one occasion shortly before the plaintiff instituted proceedings against her husband for separation, an exchange between the parties ended in fisticuffs as the defendant described it. The police were called and they suggested that the defendant spend the evening elsewhere. Thus the defendant wishes the court to be precluded from considering his own admissions under oath of conduct which is relevant to the equities between the parties. This court has often stated that while wrongful conduct by either party is a factor to be considered, it is not to be utilized as a means of punishment to the guilty party. [6] As pointed out by the trial court in its decision on motions by the defendant, alimony has already been denied because of the finding of adultery. In the instant case we have a relatively long marriage which produced three children. The record also shows that in the early years of the marriage the wife helped to remodel one home into two apartments. They lived in one of the apartments for several years before moving to a larger home. The wife actually did some rather heavy manual labor on this project. Also during these first years her husband began his electrical contracting business and worked out of their home. The plaintiff answered the phone to take business calls and worked on the books at night. This continued for several years while the plaintiff was still involved in raising their young children. The plaintiff did begin to get household help during this period but it did not become a daily occurrence until after they moved to a larger home and Arthur opened a separate business office. Given the added factors of the relatively small earning power of the wife and her custody of the three minor daughters and the defendant's not completely exemplary conduct during the duration of the marriage, it would not seem that the trial court gave excessive consideration to the wife in this property division as contended by the husband. As the plaintiff points out in her brief this court stated in Wagner v. Wagner: [7] We may say that upon this record we would not have given Mrs. Wagner as favorable consideration as did the learned municipal court. We think that the husband's conjugal and financial trust in his wife has been ill-rewarded but, while we cannot greet the trial court's division with cheers, we recognize that discretion in the division of property lies in the trial court and its judgment must prevail unless there is a clear abuse of its discretion. We can and do sustain that court's property division as within the bounds of its discretion, for one third of the assets on hand which were not derived from the wife, and all of the assets which were derived from her. The plaintiff also points out two other decisions of this court which upheld a 50 percent [8] property award and a 35 percent [9] property division where the wife was the offending party. Therefore, although the court may understand the feelings of the husband in this case, it cannot conclude that the trial court has gone beyond the bounds of its discretion in awarding approximately 39 percent of the net worth of the parties to the wife in this case.