William L. Downing v. Sherrie J. Downing

The trial court granted the wife a divorce on the ground of inappropriate marital conduct, and divided the marital property, awarding the marital home to the wife and a nearby piece of unencumbered business property to the husband. The court also made the husband responsible for 60% of the mortgage obligation on the marital home and allowed the wife to retain her entire 401(k) retirement account. The husband contends on appeal that the division of property and debt was inequitable and that the trial court impermissibly awarded the wife her 401(k) account in the form of alimony in solido. We affirm the division of marital property and marital debt. We also find that there was no alimony award, because the final order in this case, signed by the judge, treats the 401(k) as part of the division of marital property rather than as alimony. However, it appears to us that the trial court made some calculating errors when it ordered the husband to pay specific monthly amounts on the home mortgage. We therefore vacate that portion of the court’s order and remand this case to the trial court so that it may correct those calculations.