Michael E. Charles v. Denyse K. Guadeloupe (2015)

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

This is an action commenced by the plaintiff husband complaint made returnable to this court on July 29, 2014 seeking a dissolution of marriage and other relief.   The complaint was amended on February 24, 2015.   The defendant appeared by counsel, and filed an answer and a claim for relief.   The matter was tried to the court on May 12, 2015.   Both the plaintiff and the defendant were present for the trial.   The plaintiff was self-represented and the defendant was represented by counsel.   Testimony was received from the plaintiff and the defendant.   Both parties introduced exhibits to the court.   The parties also filed financial affidavits.

The parties were intermarried on July 7, 2007 in Willimantic, Connecticut.   The parties do not have any minor children and there are no children of this marriage under the age of twenty-three years.   The plaintiff has resided in this state for more than one year immediately prior to the date of the complaint.   The court finds that it has jurisdiction over the parties and the marriage.

The plaintiff is 58 years old.   He is a high school graduate.   He had been treated for prostate cancer in 2012 but no evidence was presented that his medical history prevents him from working.   He has worked throughout the marriage as an electrician.   His employment enabled him to earn approximately $38.00 per hour during his work.   However, he is a union electrician and he testified that he does not have any work available for him at the present time although he calls on a daily basis seeking work.   He does not have any income at the present time.   He further testified that he is unable to accept non-union employment in his trade.   As a result of his employment he does have a pension and an annuity.   However, those assets were accumulated in large part prior to his marriage to the defendant.   During the marriage the parties also took withdrawals from the annuities.   The plaintiff testified that he believes the defendant abandoned him and was having an affair with a person who is residing in New Jersey and living with the defendant.   The plaintiff is seeking alimony from the defendant.

The defendant is 51 years old.   She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and is in good health.   She has previously worked as a teacher and a medical assistant.   She is currently working as a residential counselor grossing $533.00 a week and netting $426.62 a week according to her financial affidavit.   She attributes the breakdown of the marriage to the plaintiff testifying that he had been violent in the past.   She left the marital residence in the beginning of 2012 and moved to Massachusetts to live with her daughter.   She currently lives in New Jersey.   The defendant did obtain a restraining order in Massachusetts against her husband in 2012.   The defendant has also retrieved personal property from the marital home in 2012.   The defendant denied having an affair and testified that the alleged boyfriend is her cousin.   She is seeking alimony from the plaintiff.

The parties were married on July 7, 2007 and separated in February 2012 after less than five years of being married.   They have lived separate and apart since that time and each has been providing for their own support since that time.   Both parties worked during the marriage.   The plaintiff has had a significant health problem in the past.   The plaintiff and the defendant are more than capable of supporting themselves each having skills.   The defendant has more formal education than the plaintiff, is in better health and has a higher income than the plaintiff at the present time.   The defendant also has an income potential higher than her current income.   An award of alimony for either party is not appropriate in this case.   The court finds that both parties contributed to the breakdown of the marriage.   The court also does not find either party to have been credible in their testimony to the court.

The court has considered the length of the marriage, the causes for the dissolution of the marriage, the age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate liabilities and needs of the parties, the opportunity for each for the acquisition of capital assets and income as well as the contribution of each in the acquisition, preservation or appreciation in valuing and distributing their respective estates.   After taking into consideration the statutory criteria set forth in the Connecticut General Statutes as well as the applicable case law and applying the same to the evidence, the court enters the following orders.

1. A decree is entered dissolving the marriage of the parties on the grounds of an irretrievable breakdown.

2. No alimony is awarded to either party.

3. Each party shall retain any pension, retirement benefits, savings accounts, 401K's, deferred compensation, saving accounts, annuities, or checking accounts as listed on their financial affidavits, free and clear of any claims of the other party.

4. The plaintiff may retain the real estate owned by him in his name and shall be solely responsible for any mortgages, real estate taxes, insurance and other costs associated with said property.

5. Each party shall retain possession of and are entitled to all household goods, motor vehicles, furnishings and possessions now under their possession and control free and clear from any claims of the other except as provided by this judgment and as hereafter listed.

6. The parties shall each be solely responsible for any debt due the Internal Revenue Service or any other State taxing authority for any income tax return filed solely in their name.   As to any jointly filed income tax returns, the parties shall equally share any tax liabilities arising therefrom.

7. The plaintiff shall be solely responsible for the debt due on the Volkswagen automobile and shall indemnify and hold the defendant harmless therefrom.

8. Each party shall assume, indemnify and hold the other party harmless on those debts as listed on their respective financial affidavits except as otherwise provided in this judgment.

9. The plaintiff and the defendant shall be solely responsible for their own medical insurance at their own expense and each party shall be entitled to any medical insurance benefits that may exist under COBRA at their own expense for the maximum period allowed by law.

10. Each party shall be responsible for his or her attorneys fees or costs if any.

Graziani, J.

Graziani, Edward C., J.