Court Opinion

ID: 9732708
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 16:32:30.864376+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:31.786117
License: Public Domain

OLSZEWSKI, Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
I concur with the well-reasoned majority disposition on all of the issues raised by appellant regarding the Master’s credibility determinations, the alimony award, and counsel fees. I must respectfully dissent, however, on the issue of the $50,793 cash award.
Appellant first claims that the trial court erred in not accepting the Master’s credibility determinations on four specific issues: two Northeastern Bank accounts, a $60,000 trust, a $66,000 loan, and Wife’s physical disability. I agree with the majority that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in making its own findings on these four issues.
Regarding the alleged bank accounts, trust, and loan, the Master found Wife’s testimony credible and determined that each of these items indeed existed, despite Husband’s denials. While a Master’s report is entitled to the fullest consideration on issues of credibility, a trial court need not blindly accept credibility determinations when there is no supporting evidence. See Herwig v. Herwig, 279 Pa.Super. 65, 69-70, 420 A.2d 746, 748 (1980). Since Wife is asserting the existence of certain financial arrangements (bank accounts, trusts, and loans), she ought to be required to produce some sort of documentary evidence to support their existence. Unlike a claim of marital infidelity, where supporting evidence is unlikely and the case boils down to a “swearing match,” Hargrove v. Hargrove, 252 Pa.Super. 120, 156-57, 381 A.2d 143, 146-47 (1977) (en banc), a claim regarding the existence of a bank account, a trust, or a loan is normally evidenced by written documents. It is not unreasonable to require the party asserting the existence of such financial arrangements to produce the supporting documentation. Since Wife’s testimony was not supported by any documentation, the trial court *605did not abuse its discretion by refusing to accept the Master’s findings in favor of Wife.
Similarly, where one party is claiming a physical disability that cannot be easily viewed or verified by a lay person, it is not unreasonable to require supporting evidence beyond the claimant’s own self-serving testimony. Cf. Verdile v. Verdile, 370 Pa.Super. 475, 482-84, 536 A.2d 1364, 1368 (1988) (finding claimant’s testimony enough when it concerned problems with which a lay person would be familiar); Remick v. Remick, 310 Pa.Super. 23, 30-32, 456 A.2d 163, 167 (1983) (en banc) (finding claimant’s testimony, along with evidence of Social Security disability benefits, sufficient to support claim of physical disability). In the instant case, the only evidence that Wife presented concerning her alleged disability was her own testimony. Since Wife’s alleged disability concerned physical ailments which could not be viewed or verified by a lay person,1 the trial court did not err in finding that the Master’s credibility determination in favor of Wife was not supported by sufficient evidence.
I also concur with the majority on the issues regarding the alimony and counsel fees. The trial court acted properly in reviewing the relevant factors, and did not abuse its discretion in adjusting the awards.
I disagree, however, with the majority’s treatment of the $50,793 cash award. The Master awarded Wife $368,224 in marital assets, plus a cash award of $50,793. This $50,793 cash award was comprised of the value of Philadelphia Electric stock shares, one-half of the proceeds from the sale of certain real estate, and one-half of the rental payments from Husband’s business. It appears that the trial court eliminated the $50,793 cash award in the erroneous belief that it was in addition to the stock, the real estate proceeds, and the rental proceeds. The trial court wrote:
Husband’s next exception relates to the Master erring in his award of an excessive amount of cash to Wife, including the *606award to Wife of the value of Philadelphia-Electric Stock in the amount of $17,000.00, one-half of the proceeds from the sale of real estate, one-half of rental payments for Husband’s business and a cash distribution of $50,793.00 above the items she retained at the time of separation.
Opinion 10/14/93, at 16-17. This statement indicates that the trial court believed that Wife was awarded four items beyond the marital assets in her possession: the stock, the real estate proceeds, the rental payments, and the $50,793. The court intended to eliminate the cash, but presumably intended to retain the award of the stock, the real estate proceeds, and the rental payments. Since we cannot be sure of the trial court’s intended distribution, I would remand for a determination of whether Wife should receive the $50,793 cash award.

. Wife claimed to have a heart valve problem, a herniated disc, macular degeneration of the right eye, and sporadic bleeding. Opinion 10/14/93, at 14.