Walter Orfiss v. Robin Orfiss (2010)

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION RENDERING JUDGMENT

The plaintiff (hereafter sometimes referred to as the husband) filed a Complaint in this court, on November 4, 2008, to dissolve his marriage to the defendant (hereafter sometimes referred to as the wife).   He seeks dissolution of the marriage, joint custody of the minor children and an equitable division of property and debts.   The Return Date was November 18, 2008.   The wife appeared pro se on November 3, 2008, and through counsel on March 2, 2009.   She filed a Cross-Complaint on November 12, 2008, seeking an order for dissolution of the marriage, alimony, sole custody of the minor children, child support, post-majority educational support and visitation.   After status conferences, family relation pre-trials and conferences, mediations, and pendente lite hearings, none of which were successful, the matter was continued and assigned to this trial court for a limited contested final hearing.   The husband appeared at trial with counsel who represented him throughout and the wife appeared at trial with counsel who represented her throughout.   The hearing commenced and concluded on September 2, 2010.   Both the plaintiff and the defendant testified.   No other witness was called by either party.   Exhibits were introduced by each of the parties.

FINDINGS:

After hearing and a careful review of the credible and relevant evidence offered during the trial, and a review of the judicially noticed court records, the court finds the following:

The husband resided continuously in the State of Connecticut for at least twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of the Complaint.   He married the defendant by her birth name of Robin L. Cable on September 15, 2000, in Ansonia, Connecticut.   There are two minor children that are issue of the marriage, JoElen Orfiss, age 9, born January 30, 2001, and Crista Orfiss, age 8, born February 18, 2002.   JoElen is a special needs child.

There is no reasonable hope of reconciliation.   The marriage of the parties has broken down irretrievably.   The wife and the parties' minor children receive medical assistance from the state of Connecticut.   The Assistant Attorney General for the state of Connecticut appeared in this case on November 19, 2008.   On September 2, 2010, it presented its written request for orders.   The parties do not object to the orders requested by the Assistant Attorney General.   The allegations of the Complaint are found to be true.   This court has jurisdiction over the marriage of the parties.

The parties have been married 10 years.   He is 45 years of age.   She is 37 years of age.   This is his second marriage and her first marriage.   Each of them completed high school.   Neither of them has had any further formal education.   Each of the parties is in reasonably good health.   Neither of them has any health problem that affects their ability to engage in gainful employment.

The husband has been continuously employed throughout the marriage by the state of Connecticut.   He is a highway maintainer.   He earns a gross weekly income of $950 and an average net weekly income of $720.

The wife worked full-time at CVS pharmacy when the parties married.   She was employed there 13 years.   After the birth of their first child in January of 2001, she resumed working at CVS on a part-time basis for three months.   Thereafter, she stayed at home until 2007 to care for their children full-time.   In 2007, she returned to work on a part-time basis for Ocean State Job Lot. In April 2009, she became employed full-time by Ocean State Job Lot as a supervisor.   She earns a gross weekly income of $263.   Her average net weekly income is $234.

The parties lived together for about two years before they married.   They lived together until September 2008.   The wife testified that the marriage was doomed from the beginning.   They cancelled their wedding three times before marrying.   The defendant was pregnant when they married.   Marital problems existed from the very beginning of the marriage.   The husband did not engage with or spend time with the wife;  their marital relations became nil;  he denigrated her, screamed, yelled and cursed at her a lot.   She grew increasingly fearful of verbal and emotional abuse from him.   On September 3, 2008, she obtained an Ex parte restraining order.   It prevented him from entering the family residence.   She claimed that his verbally abusive behavior was escalating;  and that reportedly, he improperly touched their daughter.   On September 15, 2008, he denied the allegations but agreed to give her exclusive possession of the home.   They have lived apart since then.   The allegation of molesting the daughter could not be substantiated after an investigation by the Department of Children and Families.   He has had liberal and flexible access to the children since then.   He contends that the allegations were false and were the cause of the marital breakdown.   The wife established by a preponderance of the evidence that the husband was verbally abusive;  expended much of the family's income to view pornography via the internet, pay television, DVDs, and magazines;  and as a result, they often didn't have enough money to cover their bills and expenses.   She endured it until she couldn't take it anymore.   The husband is at substantially greater fault for the marital breakdown.

Neither party brought any significant asset into the marriage.   The husband has a 403b account and a pension.   He commenced one or both of them prior to the marriage.   The value of the 403b account and/or pension on or about the date of the marriage is unknown.   He conceded that the value of the 403b account and/or pension account on or about the date of the marriage was small and that the court should consider that all of its current value accrued during the marriage.   The wife has no pension, retirement savings or other deferred compensation.   Neither party has any significant funds in a bank account.

In entering the following decree the court has taken into consideration among other things, the length of the marriage, the causes of the breakdown of the marriage, the age of the parties, their health, skills, employability, amount and sources of income, distribution of the marital assets, their resources, and their respective ability to acquire work and future income.   The court has considered all of the evidence in the light of the statutory factors in Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-81 and § 46b-82 and hereby enters the following orders:

ORDERS

DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE:

1. The marriage is hereby dissolved on the ground of irretrievable breakdown.

CUSTODY:

2. The parties are awarded joint legal custody of the minor children;  the children's primary physical residence shall be with the wife.

3. Neither parent shall make any derogatory remark to either child about the other parent.

PARENTING TIME:

4. The husband is entitled to reasonable, flexible and liberal parenting time with both minor children if and only when both children are together with the husband.   The husband shall not have parenting time with only one child or be alone at any time during his parenting time with just one child.

RELOCATION:

5. The wife shall provide the husband with not less than thirty (30)days written notice of her intent to relocate the children more than twenty miles from their residence in Naugatuck, Connecticut and not less than ninety (90) days written notice of her intent to permanently relocate with the children outside of the State of Connecticut.

6. Neither party shall take the children out of the State of Connecticut overnight without providing the non-traveling parent with fourteen (14) days prior written notice of their intent to do so, and shall supply an itinerary with all contact information, including an address and phone number, prior to traveling out of the state.

CHILD SUPPORT:

7. The husband shall pay support to the wife for the two minor children in the amount of two hundred forty ($240.00) dollars per week, in accordance with the child support guidelines, until Crista graduates from high school or attains the age of 19 years, whichever occurs first and until JoElen attains 21 years of age, pursuant Connecticut General Statute § 46b-84.

TAX DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION:

8. The husband shall be entitled to claim the minor children as an exemption on his federal income tax return.

CHILD CARE CONTRIBUTION:

9. Any child care expense necessarily incurred by either party for a minor child so that he/she may engage in full-time employment shall be shared equally by the parties.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:

10. The parties shall share equally the cost of all of the children's school supplies and extra-curricular activities, including necessary equipment, travel, and meal and lodging expenses for the child which they mutually agree the child will participate.

HEALTH INSURANCE:

11. The husband shall provide and maintain such medical/dental/health insurance as may be available to him, including through his employment, at a reasonable cost not to exceed five percent of his net income for the benefit of Crista until the age of 18, and JoElen until age 21 or until they are no longer eligible to be carried by him at a reasonable cost.

12. If Crista or JoElen attains age 18 and is a full-time student, he shall maintain the child's medical/dental/health insurance until they attain age 23, marry, decease, become employed full-time, or is no longer eligible to be carried by him at a reasonable cost.

13. In the event that medical/dental/health insurance for the benefit of the children is not available to the husband through his employment at a reasonable cost then, in that event, the wife shall maintain such insurance as may be available to her through her employment at a reasonable cost, for the benefit of the children, until they reach the age of 18, and 21, or the age of 23, if the child is a full-time student.

14. Any uninsured or un-reimbursed medical/dental/or other health care expenses, incurred for a minor child shall be paid fifty (50%) percent by the husband and fifty (50%) percent by the wife.

15. Neither party shall contract for any elective surgery or incur expenses for non medical healing arts for a child without consulting with and obtaining the consent of the other, except in the case of an emergency.   Consent to such treatment shall not be unreasonably withheld.

16. The wife shall be responsible for her own medical/dental/health insurance.   She shall have the right to avail herself of the husband's medical/dental/health insurance under “COBRA.”   In the event she elects to obtain COBRA medical/health insurance, he shall cooperate with her to obtain COBRA benefits through his health insurance provider;  she shall be solely responsible for payment of the COBRA premium.

17. The husband shall be responsible for his own medical/dental/health insurance.

ALIMONY

18. The husband shall pay to the wife periodic alimony in the amount of $125.00 per week for a period of ten (10) years.

19. The alimony awarded to the wife may be modified by either party, pursuant to Connecticut General Statute § 46b-86(b) and it shall terminate 10 years from the date of the Judgment, or upon the death of either party, remarriage of the wife or pursuant to Connecticut General Statute § 46b-86(b).

20. The wife shall be entitled to earn a gross annual income of twenty thousand ($20,000) dollars before the husband may seek a modification.

21. The alimony awarded to the wife is also for the benefit of the state of Connecticut and may be modified by the state of Connecticut.

22. No alimony is awarded to the husband.

LIFE INSURANCE:

23. The husband shall obtain a life insurance policy on his life for as much coverage as he can purchase with a premium payment of not less than $750.00 annually.   He shall designate the wife as an irrevocable beneficiary of fifty (50%) percent of the policy value for as long as he has an obligation to pay alimony to the wife;  he shall designate the wife as trusted for the minor children as beneficiaries, for the remaining fifty (50%) percent of the policy for as long as he has an obligation to pay child support for the minor children.

24. He shall provide proof of the insurance to the wife annually.

POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT:

25. The court shall retain jurisdiction pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-56c, regarding any future orders for the post-secondary education for the benefit of the minor children until they attains the age of 23.

AUTOMOBILES:

26. The husband shall retain and have sole possession and ownership of the 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix. He shall be solely responsible for any liabilities and expenses associated with the use, maintenance, and ownership of the vehicle.   The wife shall execute any and all documents necessary to confirm his ownership of the vehicle.

27. The wife shall retain and have sole possession and ownership of the 1990 Chevy Lumina.   She shall be solely responsible for any liabilities and expenses associated with the use, maintenance, and ownership of the vehicle.   The husband shall execute any and all documents necessary to confirm her ownership of the vehicle.

PENSION ACCOUNTS:

28. The husband shall transfer to the wife one-half of the total plan value of his Pension Plan on the date of Judgment.   The wife's attorney shall cause a QDRO to be prepared to facilitate the transfer of funds, if necessary.   The parties shall share the cost of the QDRO equally.   The husband shall fully cooperate with the wife in the preparation and execution of the QDRO. The court retains jurisdiction for the purpose of effectuating the QDRO, if necessary.

403b RETIREMENT ACCOUNT:

29. The husband's 403b retirement account shall be divided equally by way of a QDRO. The wife's attorney shall cause a QDRO to be prepared to facilitate the transfer of funds, if necessary.   The parties shall share the cost of the QDRO equally.   The husband shall fully cooperate with the wife in the preparation and execution of the QDRO. The court retains jurisdiction for the purpose of effectuating the QDRO, if necessary

PERSONAL PROPERTY:

30. The husband shall remove within thirty (30) days any of his personal belongings or personal effects that remain in the marital home.

31. The parties have already divided their personal property.   To the extent that there remains any personal that needs to be divided, it may be divided as agreed upon by the parties.   If the parties are unable to reach an agreement between them they shall meet with a family relations counselor to mediate their dispute.

DEBTS AND LIABILITIES:

32. The husband shall be responsible for paying all debts set forth on his financial affidavit, dated and filed with the court on September 2010 or that exist in his individual name.   He shall indemnify and hold the wife harmless against any claims brought against her arising from such debts.

33. The wife shall be responsible for paying all debts set forth on her financial affidavit, dated and filed with the court on September 2010 or that exist in her individual name.   She shall indemnify and hold the husband harmless against any claims brought against him arising from such debts.

34. Any debt incurred post-judgment is the sole responsibility of the party incurring the debt.

COUNSEL FEES AND COSTS:

35. Considering the parties' employment, amount and sources of income, distribution of the marital assets, their resources, and their respective ability to acquire work and future income, the husband has greater ability to pay the attorneys fees, incurred for the dissolution proceedings.   He shall contribute the sum of twenty five hundred ($2,500.00) dollars toward the wife's attorneys fees.   The wife shall be responsible for paying the remainder of her attorneys fee.

36. The husband shall be responsible for payment of his attorneys fees.

By the Court,

John Turner

Judge of the Superior Court

Turner, John, J.