Carbonneau v. Carbonneau
Carbonneau v. Carbonneau
Opinion of the Court
Following a trial, a Probate and Family Court judge issued a judgment of divorce nisi that ordered the division of the parties' pensions and ordered the wife, Cynthia Ruth Carbonneau, to pay alimony of $250 per week to the husband, Richard Rene Carbonneau. The husband appeals, claiming that the judge erred in assigning a portion of his pensions to the wife, and that the alimony order and its termination date were error. He also claims that the judge erred in treating the funds from his State of Connecticut pension as both an asset and a stream of income ("double dipping") in awarding alimony. We affirm.
1. Property division. The husband claims that the division of the marital estate was inequitable and does not flow rationally from the findings. We disagree. "A judge has broad discretion when awarding alimony and dividing marital assets pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 34." Heins v. Ledis,
Here, it is clear from the judge's written findings that the § 34 factors were fully considered, as the judge made findings on each factor and did not consider irrelevant factors. The judge found that this was a long-term marriage of over thirty years, during which both parties worked and earned an income. The judge also explained that the parties' pensions were the largest part of the marital estate. The judge found that it was fair and equitable to treat the pensions as assets and therefore divided them equally so that each party would have the benefit of the pension accumulated by the parties during the marriage.
The husband also claims that the division of property does not flow rationally from the findings because the judge never determined the precise values of the pensions. However, the judge divided the marital portion of the pensions equally between the parties. See Robbins v. Robbins,
2. Alimony award. The wife was ordered to pay $250 per week in alimony to the husband, which shall terminate upon the first to occur of the following events: (a) death of a party; (b) remarriage of husband; or (c) wife reaching the age of sixty-two years. The husband claims that the alimony award does not appropriately consider G. L. c. 208, §§ 48 - 55, and that the duration of the award is arbitrary. We disagree. "Alimony and equitable division are interrelated remedies; the combination must make sense." Casey v. Casey,
Here, the judge properly considered the statutory factors for awarding alimony, which included the parties' health, income, employment, and employability, "economic and non-economic contribution of both parties to the marriage[,] marital lifestyle[,] [and the] ability of each party to maintain the marital lifestyle." G. L. c. 208, § 53 (a ). The judge determined that the wife's current income and the result of the division of the marital estate would put her in a superior financial position to the husband as she continued to work full time and the husband was in need of support. The judge took into account the parties' current earnings or ability to earn, the husband's expenses (including that his expenses were being subsidized by his girl friend and his daughter and her boy friend), and the postdivorce health insurance costs. She also acknowledged that the husband's knee problems may limit his work opportunities, but found that he did have the ability to work and earn more than a nominal amount based on his skills and experience. The husband contends that the judgment leaves him in an inferior financial position; however, he does not cite to any expenses that he cannot meet. In sum, the amount of the alimony award was not plainly wrong. See Heins v. Ledis,
The husband also claims that the judge erred in setting the termination date of alimony. The parties' marriage was for more than thirty years, and therefore the judge would have been permitted to "order alimony for an indefinite length of time." G. L. c. 208, § 49 (c ). The alimony order in place does not deviate from any presumptive durational limit and does not require any special written findings. See G. L. c. 208, § 53 (e ) ; Holmes v. Holmes,
3. Double dipping. Finally, the husband claims that the judge erred in impermissibly double dipping by treating his State of Connecticut pension as both an asset and a stream of income. We disagree. Double dipping is a term used "to describe the seeming injustice that occurs when property is awarded to one spouse in an equitable distribution of marital assets and is then also considered as a source of income for purposes of imposing [or not imposing] support obligations." Champion v. Champion,
Judgment affirmed.
The judge assigned the husband fifty per cent of the accrued benefit in the wife's Baystate Health Inc. Retirement Program pension, which was "frozen" as of December 31, 2015, meaning there will be no more contributions to it. The judge assigned the wife a fifty per cent interest in the husband's accrued benefit in his State of Connecticut pension, which was in payout, and also a 43.75 per cent interest in the husband's military pension benefit, which was not yet vested at the time of trial.
Evidence was presented that the wife's anticipated monthly pension benefit would be about $600 at the age of sixty-two.
The wife's request for attorney's fees and costs pursuant to Mass. R. A. P. 25, as appearing in
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.