All in the Family: Record, findings incomplete in complex divorce.

Byline: Jason Brown and Cynthia Brown

On Feb. 18, 2020, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an unpublished decision in In re the Marriage of Suhsen and Suhsen. A number of interesting issues surrounding the division of assets and debts, along with spousal maintenance, were addressed.

Underlying facts

In Suhsen, Husband and Wife were married for over 25 years. During the marriage, Husband worked as an air traffic controller earning approximately $181,000.00 per year. Wife worked as an elementary school teacher until leaving the workforce to care for the parties' children for 16 years.

A few months before the dissolution action was commenced, Husband was injured in an automobile accident. Due to his use of disqualifying medication, he lost the medical certification necessary to work as a controller. Husband's change in employment led to prolonged dissolution proceedings.

Hearings and findings

The District Court held a trial on the financial issues with numerous experts, including a vocational assessor and Federal Employees Retirement Systems (FERS) specialist.

The initial decree allocated 75% of the marital debt to Husband and 25% to Wife. The District Court also found that Husband refused to provide information about his personal injury action and was "hiding the claim from discovery and at trial."

Wife was awarded $2,000 per month in temporary spousal maintenance. The District Court found that Wife was unemployed with an earning capacity of up to $3,000 per month if she returned to work. A permanent award of alimony was reserved in light of the fact that the nature of Husband's future FERS benefits was unknown.

The final Judgment and Decree, issued 15 months later, awarded Wife $2,500 in permanent monthly spousal maintenance. In addition, the Court awarded Wife 40% of Husband's personal injury award paid for lost wages. The net amount of the award totaled approximately $252,000. Wife's share totaled approximately $92,500.

Husband appeals

Husband appealed, arguing that the District Court abused its discretion by: (1) awarding $2,500 in permanent spousal maintenance to Wife; (2) ordering Husband to maintain an annuity survivorship benefit for Wife; (3) requiring Husband to maintain a life insurance policy as security for support payments to Wife; (4) assigning Husband 75% of the marital debt; and (5) declining to consider the income tax consequences of Husband's personal injury award in apportioning said funds.

While the Court of Appeals...