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APPEAL
FROM THE DALLAS COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 20DR-16-69],
HONORABLE SPENCER G. SINGLETON, JUDGE
Robertson,
Oswalt & Associates, Little Rock, by: Chris Oswalt, for
appellant.
Wynne
Law Firm, by: Tom Wynne, for appellee.
OPINION
ROBERT
J. GLADWIN, Judge
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Stanley Banks and Barbara Banks were divorced in the Dallas
County Circuit Court by decree filed April 23, 2018. Stanley
appeals, arguing that the trial court clearly erred by (1)
granting an unequal division of property; (2) failing to cite
its reasons for the unequal division; and (3) awarding
alimony to Barbara. We affirm.
I.
Facts
The
Bankses were married June 3, 1995, and separated October 28,
2015. Barbara filed for divorce on October 11, 2017, alleging
eighteen months separation. When the parties could not reach
an agreement on the division of marital property and debt or
alimony, a final hearing was held on April 16, 2018.
Barbara
testified that she works for the Arkansas Department of Human
Services and had worked for the State of Arkansas for
twenty-four years. Her sole retirement account is with the
Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS), and she
did not know how much it is worth. She said that Stanley had
worked for Shippers, Georgia Pacific, and Union Pacific
during their marriage, and he had a retirement account worth
$ 102,000 and another account worth $ 12,000. She said that
there was no debt on their house, worth $ 39,500, and she
asked that she be awarded the house and her vehicle, a
Cadillac CTS on which she owed $ 14,172.56. She said that the
household furnishings were worth $ 1500. Barbara listed
several vehicles owned by the couple, including her Cadillac
CTS and Stanleys Cadillac DTS. She also said that Stanley
had a Hayabusa motorcycle worth $ 5470 with no debt, and they
had a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix, a 1994 Grand Am, a 1997 GMC
truck, a 1999 GMC truck, and a 2008 GMC Denali.[1]
Barbara said that it was Stanleys habit to keep cash both in
his vehicles glove box and in his briefcase. She said that
she found $ 6000 in his car in July before their separation,
and she believed he kept that much or more in his briefcase.
She estimated that he had $ 10,000 cash when they separated.
Barbara said that she had accumulated debt in her name during
the marriage. She owed money to Capital One; the IRS;
JCPenney; Best Buy; a collection agency; TJ Maxx; RCA;
Fordyce Bank & Trust; Discover; Exxon; Avenue; the Childrens
Place; Credit One; Midland Funding; her doctor; and Jefferson
Regional Medical Center. Barbara said that she had paid off
one marital debt— Midland Funding in the amount of $
2,095.32— and she admitted on cross-examination that
the Fordyce Bank & Trust loan was used in part to pay the
Midland Funding debt. She also listed her vehicle debt of $
14,172.56, which she accrued after the parties separation,
and Stanleys vehicle debt of $ 10,000. Barbara proposed that
she be responsible for all the debt except for the $ 10,000
owed by Stanley on his vehicle— leaving her with $
29,710.76 in debt.
Barbara alleged that Stanleys income is $ 6,148.84 a month
and requested $ 1000 a
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month in alimony, which she claimed would give her $ 304 each
month after expenses and leave Stanley with $ 467 a month
after expenses. She said on cross-examination that his
monthly income included employer-paid per diem allowance for
travel.
Stanley testified that his tax returns are the best
reflection of his income and that his income varies, leaving
him without a specific biweekly amount. He asked that the
trial court use his tax returns to determine his income.
Stanley also introduced exhibits that listed both his credit
card and IRS debts totaling more than $ 4000. He said that he
owes $ 13,255.11 on his vehicle and claimed that his monthly
net pay is $ 3,544.50. His affidavit of financial means
reflected that his expenses are $ 5,045.96 a month.
The
trial court issued its decree on April 23, 2018, and it
states as follows:
4. PROPERTY. The Court finds the following distribution of
property to be equitable:
The Plaintiff is awarded the following property: the
residence at 411 North Oakley, the 2011 Cadillac CTS, the
2004 Pontiac Grand Prix, one-half (1/2) of Defendants Union
Pacific Retirement account, one-half (1/2) of her own
Arkansas Public Employee Retirement System (APERS) account,
and whatever funds presently exist in the parties joint bank
account.
The Defendant is awarded the following property: the 2011
Cadillac DTS, the 1994 Pontiac Grand Am, the GMC truck, the
GMC Denali, the 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa Motorcycle, one-half
(1/2) of his own Union Pacific Retirement account, one-half
(1/2) of Plaintiffs APERS account, all of his ITW Retirement
Account, and all of the cash he admitted to possessing and
withholding from Plaintiff at and around the time of the
separation which the Court finds would well exceed $
6,000.00.
1. DEBTS. The Court makes the following debt distributions:
The Plaintiff shall be responsible for the following marital
debts: Capital One ($ 1,584.06); IRS/2015 ($ 983.46);
IRS/2016 ($ 1,200.00); JCPenney ($ 386.46); LAC Collections
($ 65.51); Best Buy ($ 1,521.72); TJ Max/Synchrony Bank ($
607.21); RCA ($ 50.00); Fordyce Bank & Trust ($ 2,703.27);
Discover Card ($ 1,337.17); Exxon ($ 326.45); Dr. Brotherton
($ 64.67); Jefferson Regional Medical Center ($ 232.00);
Avenue ($ 354.05); Credit One ($ 1,827.85); Childrens Place
($ 199.00); Midland Funding ($ 2,095.32); and GM Financial
for the 2011 Cadillac CTS ($ 14,172.56).
The Defendant shall be responsible for the following marital
debts: Sears Credit Card ($ 1,091.49); Best Buy ($ 1,158.00),
IRS taxes owed for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017; debt on the
2011 Cadillac DTS (approximately $ ...