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Chwalik v. Chwalik12/15/2005
UNPUBLISHED
Before: Wilder, P.J., and Sawyer and White, JJ.
Defendant appeals as of right from a judgment of divorce. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
I.
The parties married in March of 1994 and had been married for nine years at the time of their divorce. When they married, defendant was thirty-seven years old and plaintiff was twenty-six years old. Defendant had an associates degree from Henry Ford Community College and was a Senior Assistant in the Human Resources Department for BASF, earning approximately $35,000 per year. Defendant owned a 1988 Porsche and a home in Trenton, Michigan at the time of the marriage. The home was sold for approximately $148,000 in May 1994. Plaintiff had a bachelors degree in political science and chemistry from Albion College in 1991, and received a bachelors degree and masters degree in chemical engineering from Wayne State University in 1993. Plaintiff also worked at BASF from 1985, initially earning approximately $23,000 per year. At the time of their marriage, plaintiff was making approximately the same as defendant and had three or four thousand dollars in his 401K.
In July 1994, the parties purchased a home at 4074 Bayview Circle in Newport, Michigan, using the proceeds from defendant's May 1994 sale of her home as the down payment. In 1995 or 1996, plaintiff received a masters degree in business administration (MBA) from the University of Michigan. In the summer of 1997, the parties sold their first home at a loss of approximately $20,000, and used the proceeds from the sale of that home as the down payment on the purchase of another home in Grosse Ille, Michigan.
After ten years of employment at BASF, defendant was notified that her job was being eliminated in March or April 1997. She was given a choice of a severance package or a different job outside of human resources. Defendant and plaintiff jointly agreed that defendant would take a severance package and pursue a new career in real estate. Defendant worked in real estate for approximately four years, after which she obtained a temporary job in human resources earning approximately $27,700 per year. In the year 2002, defendant worked only part-time and earned $11,000. At the time of trial, plaintiff worked as a manager in a consulting firm earning a salary of $120,000 annually. Defendant was attending Eastern Michigan University seeking a degree in apparel/textile and merchandising, with a minor in interior design. Defendant testified that her intention was to work full-time after graduating from EMU in December 2004. From February 1999 to the time of the divorce, plaintiff was employed as a management consultant. Plaintiff earned $120,000 annually in 2001 and 2002.
In early 2001, the parties began discussing divorce and decided that one lawyer should draft the divorce agreement or alimony package. The parties discussed dividing their marital assets and came up with a specific amount of alimony for defendant, between $3,000 and $3,500 per month. In June of 2001, defendant hired an attorney to represent her. Thereafter, plaintiff and defendant completed a statement concerning their respective living expenses. The parties resided together until October 5, 2001, when plaintiff moved out of the parties' house. In March of 2002, defendant's attorney sent a proposed separation agreement to plaintiff, who had since moved to Connecticut. The cover letter from defendant's attorney expressly stated that he did not represent plaintiff, and that plaintiff should seek the advice of counsel if he had any questions. Plaintiff testified that he glanced through the document, looked at the asset provision a
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