Court Opinion

ID: 9856339
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:45:15.787518+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:38:36.998545
License: Public Domain

Judge Walker
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I vote to affirm the trial court’s order in its entirety. I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion which holds the trial court erred in concluding that plaintiff’s gross income for the purpose of calculating his child support and alimony obligations did not include his corporation’s cash reserve. I further dissent from the majority opinion which concludes the trial court erred in failing to properly determine the alimony “in light of the accustomed standard of living of the parties during the marriage.”
*32The Child Support Guidelines provide that
[i]n general, income and expenses from self-employment or operation of a business should be carefully reviewed to determine an appropriate level of gross income available to the parent to satisfy a child support obligation. In most cases, this amount will differ from a determination of business income for tax purposes.
Guidelines at 3 (emphasis added).
Here, the trial court found that although plaintiff’s corporation maintained a sizeable cash reserve, this reserve was fully encumbered by the creditor bank and could not be used by plaintiff or his current wife. The trial court also noted that although the cash reserve was reported as income for Subchapter S tax purposes, the reserve would only become income available to plaintiff if the assets of the corporation were sold. Because the trial court should only consider funds actually and presently available to an obligor in calculating child support and alimony obligations, the trial court’s conclusion that “where the cash reserve is required to be deposited in and is held by a creditor/bank, it is not considerable [sic] as ‘income’ available in computing alimony and/or support,” should be affirmed.
In addition, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in reducing plaintiff’s alimony obligation. The amount of alimony awarded by the trial court “is not reviewable on appeal in the absence of an abuse of discretion.” Quick v. Quick, 305 N.C. 446, 453, 290 S.E.2d 653, 658 (1982). While consideration must be given to the estates and earnings of both spouses, as well as the needs of the dependent spouse, the determination of the amount of alimony awarded “ ‘is a question of fairness and justice to all parties.’” Id. (quoting Beall v. Beall, 290 N.C. 669, 674, 228 S.E.2d 407, 410 (1976)).
Here, the trial court considered evidence of the parties’ estates and earnings, in addition to defendant’s needs as a dependent spouse. The trial court found that defendant’s reasonable needs to enable her to maintain her standard of living as established in the 1990 order was in excess of $2,500.00 per month. The court further found that at the time of the 1990 order defendant was earning $1,208.00 gross income per month with a net income of $800.00 per month, and at the time of the 1995 order, defendant’s gross earnings were $2,860.00 per month with a net income of $2,136.00 per month — more than twice her gross income at the time of the previous order. Further, defendant’s debts had been reduced to one-eighth of what they had been in 1990, and *33she had also obtained substantial equity in her house. After considering this evidence and determining that plaintiffs gross income did not include his corporation’s cash reserve, the trial court determined that a change of circumstances had occurred warranting a reduction in plaintiffs alimony obligation. Because the trial court properly considered all relevant factors in determining the amount of plaintiffs alimony obligation, it did not abuse its discretion in reducing such obligation.
Finally, the trial court did not modify defendant’s accustomed standard of living from that determined in the 1990 order. The trial court acknowledged that, at the time of the 1990 order, defendant needed an amount in excess of $2,500.00 per month to maintain her accustomed standard of living during the marriage, and that defendant never returned to such standard of living. However, according to defendant’s affidavit, her reasonable living expenses in 1995 were found to be $2,643.00. When the alimony awarded to defendant by the trial court ($532.00) is added to defendant’s present net income ($2,136.00), the result is an amount which exceeds $2,500.00. I conclude the trial court considered defendant’s accustomed standard of living as set forth in the 1990 order and that further findings are not necessary in determining the amount of defendant’s alimony award in the 1995 order.
For the above reasons, I would affirm the trial court’s order.