Court Opinion

ID: 9843721
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 02:42:32.158302+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:53.550099
License: Public Domain

*681SANDSTROM, Justice,
dissenting.
[¶ 16] James Corbett was awarded custody of the couple’s minor children.
[¶ 17] James Corbett was awarded $111,772 in property, including one-half of his retirement fund. Kristi Corbett was awarded $48,711 in property, including one-half of James Corbett’s retirement fund, a tax-refund amount of $4,443, and a cash payment from James Corbett of $16,275, which included proceeds from a retirement fund not included in the property distribution. James Corbett was awarded $91,759 in debt, including a cash payment of $16,275. Kristi Corbett was awarded $12,500 in debt. James Corbett received $20,013 in net property, and Kristi Corbett received $36,211 in net property. The net property allocation was 36 percent to James Corbett and 64 percent to Kristi Corbett — a substantial disparity.
[¶ 18] Normally, a trial court starts with an equal distribution of property. Kautzman v. Kautzman, 1998 ND 192, ¶ 7, 585 N.W.2d 561 (“[W]e start with the view that marital property should be equally divided.”). The distribution of property need not be equal to be equitable, but substantial disparity must be explained. Heinz v. Heinz, 2001 ND 147, ¶ 5, 632 N.W.2d 443. Although James Corbett brought most of the property into the marriage and has the primary responsibility of raising and caring for the children, the trial court said it was giving Kristi Corbett a disproportionate amount of the property so she could rehabilitate herself by going back to school, and pay off her debt.
[¶ 19] Even though both parents have a responsibility to support their children, in its first decision, the trial court awarded spousal support for the specific purpose of offsetting Kristi Corbett’s obligation to support her children. In Corbett v. Corbett, 2001 ND 113, 628 N.W.2d 312, this Court said the awarding of spousal support to offset child support was impermissible, and we reversed the trial court. We remanded on both spousal support and the property division.
[¶ 20] On remand, the trial court could have more equally realigned the property division by taking the rehabilitative money out of the property division and placing it in spousal support instead. But what the trial court did on remand, without explanation, was to leave standing the rehabilitative money in the property division and then award it a second time in the rehabilitative spousal support “to go back to school.”
[¶ 21] I would reverse and remand with instructions to the trial court to either equalize the property division or eliminate the spousal support. If the trial court selects the former option, I would direct the trial court to include in the judgment a provision that spousal support may be reconsidered if Kristi Corbett does not have a reasonable rehabilitation plan within one year.
[¶ 22]- Dale V. Sandstrom