Munroe v. Munroe4/30/1997
PORTER, Presiding Judge.
Plaintiff-appellant, William C. Munroe, appeals from the divorce decree of the domestic relations court and contends that the court erred in favor of his ex-wife, Jennifer B. Munroe, defendant-appellee, in making disposition of marital and separate property and in awarding spousal support and attorney fees in the particulars hereinafter discussed. We find merit that the appeal and affirm in part and reverse in part for the reasons hereinafter stated.
Plaintiff husband and defendant wife were married October 12, 1974. They had two children, Mary K. (born October 18, 1978) and William C., Jr. (born May 5, 1980). At the time of the divorce on December 11, 1995, the husband was fifty-two years of age and the wife was age forty-eight. The husband was employed at Fairview General Hospital as a home care marketing manager with annual gross earnings of $50,460 and net earnings of $2,660 per month. The wife was employed fulltime as an office manager for Partridge Enterprises earning $16,200 annually with take-home pay of $1,034 per month.
In May 1974, prior to the marriage, the husband purchased the real property at 275 Yacht Club Drive, Rocky River for $22,000 The husband paid $4,400 down plus approximately $1,100 in closing costs or a total of $5,500. He mortgaged the $17,600 balance on his individual credit and moved into the home in July 1974.
After purchasing the property and moving in, he preexposed Remarriage to Jennifer in September 1974 and the parties were married October 12, 1974. The wife moved into the home with her eight-year-old child from a precious marriage. Asthe time the husband purchased the Yacht Club Drive relit estate, there were no plans to marry. After the marriage, title to the property was placed in their joint names.
In 1978, the parties took out a $25,000 home improvement loan for a new kitchen, second floor addition, garage and other improvements. The home improvement loan ($25,000) and the balance on the husband's original mortgage ($16,000) and costs were combined and refinanced is a new $42,500 first mortgage on which they were jointly liable. Before refinancing the first mortgage, the parties had reduced the mortgage by $914 with payments from marital income. The principal balance on the first mortgage is now $90,651, a reduction in principal of $11,849 from the $42,500 mortgage taken in 1978. Also, there is now $26,578 owed on a home equity line, secured by tie Yacht Club Drive property, that is a marital debt not incurred in relation to the property.
The parties stopped living together during the winter of 1992 and officially separated in March 1993. The wife and two children remained in the Yacht Club Drive property. The husband filed a complaint for divorce on February 25, 1994 on grounds of gross neglect of duty. In March 1994, the wife counterclaimed for divorce for gross neglect and incompatibility. On March 30, 1995, the wife filed her motion for support pendente tile with affidavit.
The case was tried from September 12 to 14, 1995. The court's decision and judgment entry were issued on December 11, 1995, granting both parties a divorce, providing for shared parenting dividing property (both marital and separate), and awarding temporary and permanent child support ($351.50 per month per child) and spousal support ($600 per month for six years).
The husband filed a timely notice of appeal from the trial court's final divorce judgment. A subsequent appeal by the husband from an order denying his motion to tax the trial transcript as costs has been consolidated for hearing and disposition with the original case. The wife filed no
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