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Stavans v. Stavans

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Aug 8, 1994
207 A.D.2d 392 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)

Opinion

August 8, 1994

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Durante, J.).


Ordered that the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for a specific direction by the court as to the disposition of the marital residence.

The parties were married for approximately 37 years and had three children. The wife commenced an action for divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment, alleging numerous acts of physical and verbal abuse. Contrary to the husband's contentions, the record supports a finding of cruel and inhuman treatment (see, Brady v. Brady, 64 N.Y.2d 339; Hessen v. Hessen, 33 N.Y.2d 406; Tortorello v. Tortorello, 133 A.D.2d 683; Siczewicz v Siczewicz, 92 A.D.2d 915).

The court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in directing that the marital assets, including the marital residence, be distributed evenly between the plaintiff and the defendant, in consideration, inter alia, of the income and property of each party at the time of the marriage and at the commencement of this action, the duration of the marriage and the age and health of both parties, the plaintiff's waiver of maintenance, and the plaintiff's contribution to the marital property both directly as a wage earner for a period of time and indirectly as a spouse, homemaker, and mother of three children (see, O'Brien v. O'Brien, 66 N.Y.2d 576; Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 N.Y.2d 481). It was also not an improvident exercise of discretion to refuse to grant the defendant a credit for his alleged separate property contributions on the ground that the defendant's claims were not established by clear and convincing evidence (see, Waldman v. Waldman, 196 A.D.2d 650; Cusimano v Cusimano, 149 A.D.2d 397; Lischynsky v. Lischynsky, 120 A.D.2d 824; Bizzarro v. Bizzarro, 106 A.D.2d 690).

We note that because the judgment is unclear as to whether or not the residence is to be sold, and the manner in which the net proceeds of the sale, if any, are to be distributed, the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Queens County, for a specific direction by the court as to the disposition of the marital residence. Balletta, J.P., Miller, Hart and Krausman, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Stavans v. Stavans

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Aug 8, 1994
207 A.D.2d 392 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)
Case details for

Stavans v. Stavans

Case Details

Full title:KATIE STAVANS, Respondent, v. MURRAY STAVANS, Appellant

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Aug 8, 1994

Citations

207 A.D.2d 392 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)
615 N.Y.S.2d 712

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