Deborah Martinez v. Pedro Juan Martinez, Jr. (2010)

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

The parties, high school sweethearts, have been married for twenty-seven years and have one child born to the marriage, to wit:  Daniel Juan Martinez (DOB 7/17/1988).   The plaintiff has a daughter from a previous relationship and that child was raised in the family and supported by her mother and stepfather without any financial assistance from the biological father.   By all accounts, the parties worked hard throughout the marriage to both earn a living for the family and to improve themselves through education.   The plaintiff earned an associate's degree and became a registered nurse, while the defendant earned bachelor's and master's degrees in his field.

Difficulties eventually resulted in the defendant leaving the martial home in March 2009.   Whether by specific agreement or default, they divided the financial burden with the plaintiff paying the two mortgages on the marital home and the defendant paying the credit card debt and other liabilities.   The defendant claims that he continued to help support their son in college until he questioned whether or not the boy was still a student, while the plaintiff claims that she alone has supported the son prior to the defendant vacating the marital home.   In December 2009, the plaintiff served the defendant with the present action which was returnable to court on January 19, 2010.   Neither party has sought any financial orders prior to the present trial.

The plaintiff testified to the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and the defendant, though not specifically addressing that topic, clearly agreed with her opinion on this topic.   The trial consisted only of the testimony of the two parties and exhibits that had been pre-marked, with the exception of one piece of rebuttal evidence, entered by agreement of the parties.   What was apparent from the evidence is that the parties had very different perspectives regarding the family finances, but it was quite clear that there was no issue of fault in this dissolution.   These were simply two people who were once in love and that was no longer true.   In closing argument, both counsel agreed that these were two good, hard working people who no longer wanted to be married to one another.

Accordingly, the court makes the following findings:

The court has jurisdiction in this matter;

All statutory stays have expired;

There is no finding of fault in this dissolution;

The allegations of the complaint are found to be true;  and

The parties were married in New Britain, Connecticut on January 14, 1983, and have one child born to the marriage, to wit:  Daniel Juan Martinez, who was born on July 17, 1988 and is presently 22 years old.

The Court issues the following ORDERS:

1. The marriage of the parties is hereby dissolved as of the date of this decision;

2. No alimony is awarded to either party after careful consideration of the criteria as set forth in CGS § 46b-82;

3. The real property located at 4 Stone Hill, Bloomfield, Connecticut shall be listed for immediate sale with a broker/agent as agreed to by the parties;

4. The listing price for said sale shall be determined by the broker/agent and the parties shall cooperate with said broker/agent and each other in aggressively marketing said property;

5. The net proceeds of said sale shall be divided equally among the parties;

6. Until such sale, the plaintiff shall have exclusive use and occupancy of the property;

7. Until such sale, the parties shall share the cost of maintaining the property as to the payment of both mortgages, taxes and insurance, as well as the cost of any repairs either suggested by the broker/agent or required by the potential buyer's mortgagor.   The cost of the utilities for said property shall be the sole liability of the plaintiff;

8. The court will retain jurisdiction over the real property until such property is conveyed;

9. The parties will be jointly liable for all debts and liabilities as listed on their respective financial affidavits regardless of which party has such debt listed, including, but not limited to the student loans for their son, the Chase credit card, the First USA credit card, the Care Credit, Capitol One, RBS, Citibank and Home Depot;

10. The time share at Lifestyle Vacation Club in the Dominican Republic is to be sold and the net value to be divided equally, or in the event that it cannot be sold for a profit, shared equally by the parties, with the plaintiff using it in all even years and the defendant in all odd years.   The costs are to be shared equally;

11. The defendant shall transfer to the plaintiff the sum of $50,000 from his deferred income assets in a property distribution.   In the event that a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is required, the cost of that document shall be borne by the defendant.   The court shall retain jurisdiction over this distribution until it is effectuated;

12. At the time of the sale of the former marital home, the defendant may claim as his personal property the items listed in Defendant's Exhibit “O” attached hereto and made a part hereof.   All other personal property in the former marital home shall be the sole property of the plaintiff;

13. The plaintiff shall retain as her own property, free and clear of any claim from the defendant, the 1999 BMW motor vehicle and the 1999 Honda Civic motor vehicle.   She shall be solely liable for the ownership and operation of said vehicles and shall hold harmless and indemnify the defendant from any liability associated therewith.   The defendant shall retain as his own property, free and clear of any claim from the plaintiff the 2002 Dodge Durango motor vehicle.   He shall be solely liable for the ownership and operation of said vehicle and shall hold harmless and indemnify the plaintiff from any liability associated therewith;

14. Each party shall keep as their sole property any bank accounts in their respective names, as listed on their respective financial affidavits;

15. Until Daniel Juan Martinez reaches the age of 23, the parties shall share equally the cost of his college education, including room and board, providing that he is engaged as a full-time student as defined by the college he is attending;

16. Each party shall be responsible for their own medical and dental coverage, but the defendant shall continue to provide such coverage for Daniel as long as he is a full-time student and under the age of 23.

SO ORDERED.

BY THE COURT,

Adelman, J.

Adelman, Gerard I., J.