Nelson v. Richardson-Nelson

30 Neb.App. 15

964 N.W.2d 463

Darryl NELSON, appellant,

v.Elizabeth RICHARDSON-NELSON, appellee.

No. A-20-716.

Court of Appeals of Nebraska.

Filed June 29, 2021.

Brian W. Copley, of Heldt, McKeone & Copley, for appellant.

Mark R. McKeone, P.C., L.L.O., Cozad, for appellee.

Pirtle, Chief Judge, and Moore and Bishop, Judges.

Moore, Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Darryl Nelson (Darryl) appeals from the order of the district court for Dawson County dissolving his marriage to Elizabeth Richardson-Nelson (Elizabeth). The court found that the parties established a common-law marriage in Colorado in 1997 and awarded alimony to Elizabeth. Darryl contends that the parties were not married until 2011 in Nebraska. He also challenges the amount and duration of the court's alimony award. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On June 6, 2019, Darryl filed a complaint in the district court, seeking dissolution of his marriage to Elizabeth. He alleged that the parties were married in Nebraska in "July, 2013 [sic]." In her answer and "Counter Complaint," Elizabeth denied this allegation and alleged that the parties were married in Colorado in July 1997. Both parties sought dissolution of the marriage and an equitable division of the marital estate. Additionally, Elizabeth sought awards of temporary and permanent alimony.

On April 8, 2020, the district court entered an order concerning temporary spousal support. The court awarded Elizabeth sole and exclusive possession of the marital residence for the duration of the pendency of the case and, as part of the award of temporary spousal support, ordered Darryl to pay the mortgage, tax, and insurance payments on the marital residence; to pay the insurance premiums for Elizabeth's automobile; and to maintain in full force and effect and pay the premiums for any health or life insurance which insured the health or life of Elizabeth as of June 6, 2019. Additionally, the court ordered Darryl to pay temporary spousal support in the amount of $300 per month commencing January 1, 2020, until further order of the court.

Trial was held before the district court on July 1, 2020. In addition to receiving various documentary exhibits, the court heard testimony from Darryl, Elizabeth, and Darryl's uncle.

The parties presented conflicting evidence regarding whether they established a common-law marriage in Colorado or were not married until after they moved to Nebraska. They were living in Colorado when they began dating in 1996, and at some point later that year, Darryl moved in with Elizabeth. The parties lived together without interruption until they separated in February 2019. On June 17, 1997, the parties obtained a marriage license in Colorado. They did not have a marriage ceremony at that time, and the license was never filed with a county clerk's office in Colorado (nor does a copy appear in the record on appeal). The parties moved to Nebraska in September 1998. They obtained a marriage license and had a wedding ceremony in Nebraska in 2011. Their Nebraska license and certificate of marriage was admitted into evidence; reflects a marriage date of July 17, 2011; and was filed with the county clerk's office in Dawson County on July 18. At the time of trial, Darryl, age 42, resided in Kearney, Nebraska, and Elizabeth, age 48, resided in Lexington, Nebraska.

Darryl was asked about why the parties did not have a "follow-up ceremony" after obtaining the marriage license in Colorado. Darryl responded, "I just ... drug my feet, I guess." When asked if it was his intention at that time to "officially" marry Elizabeth, he stated, "Intention, yes, but just never finished it." Darryl testified further, "There was never a real push for us to have a full-blown marriage — wedding." When questioned further about what kept him from filing the marriage license while the parties were in Colorado, Darryl testified that this was due to "[m]aybe cold feet a little bit ... because [he] was so young" (19 years old). He also testified that there "wasn't a big pressure to do it because [Elizaeth and he] were already together like that. It already felt like that was the case." Darryl admitted that he began calling Elizabeth his wife and that he held her out as his wife to other people after they obtained the Colorado marriage license. Darryl testified that he purchased Elizabeth a "promise ring" in 1997 before the parties moved to Nebraska, indicating that he bought "the actual first wedding ring" after the move to Nebraska although he did not recall in what year it was purchased. Darryl testified that the parties were "officially married" at the time of the 2011 ceremony in Nebraska. When asked why he decided to "go through with a formal marriage" at that point, Darryl responded that the parties had been "going through some problems," that Elizabeth "had always wanted a ceremony," and that he thought the ceremony would help to "make the relationship stronger."

The parties did not jointly own any property and had no joint accounts while they lived in Colorado. According to Elizabeth, Darryl did not have any bank accounts at the time and her account was only maintained for purposes of receiving her daughter's disability payments. She testified that the parties paid their bills in Colorado using cash. Darryl testified that the parties did not have a specific agreement about how bills would be paid or expenses divided, indicating that Elizabeth usually paid the rent while he "helped out with" other bills. Darryl testified that he did not carry Elizabeth on his medical insurance while they lived in Colorado. According to Elizabeth, Darryl did not have medical insurance during that period; Elizabeth was on Medicaid, which also covered her children; and Darryl's daughter was covered through her mother's insurance. Darryl did not recall filing a joint tax return with Elizabeth prior to moving to Nebraska, but he testified that they "[p]ossibly" did so in 1998 and that "it was for sure" for the tax years 1999 and 2000. Elizabeth estimated that the parties first filed a joint tax return in 2000 for the 1999 tax year. Transcripts from the Internal Revenue Service of Darryl's income taxes from 2008 through 2018 were received into evidence, and all show a "Married Filing Joint" filing status. Elizabeth did not have any older income tax documents and was able to obtain only the 10 years of transcripts that were received into evidence.

Elizabeth testified that she believed the parties were married after they obtained the license in Colorado. She acknowledged there was no wedding ceremony in 1997, but she believed the marriage license itself created the marriage. She described the ring Darryl gave her in 1997 as an "engagement ring," testifying, "That's when he asked me to marry him." Elizabeth confirmed Darryl's testimony that in Colorado, Darryl introduced her as his "wife" on several occasions after the commencement of their cohabitation. Elizabeth did not adopt Darryl's surname while the parties lived in Colorado; she did not legally change her surname to Richardson-Nelson until after 2011, when her driver's license expired. Elizabeth offered in evidence a cross-stitch wall plaque made by Darryl's grandmother and given to the parties. The wall plaque depicts a man and woman, bears the names "Elizabeth" and "Darryl," and includes the words "United in Love" and "July 17, 1997." The woman depicted is wearing a wedding gown and veil and is holding a bouquet of flowers. The man depicted is formally dressed. The record does not indicate exactly when this gift was given to the parties. Elizabeth testified that "[Darryl's] mom and grandmother [were] upset because they felt like [Darryl and Elizabeth] robbed them of them being there for [the] wedding" and that the grandmother "made the plaque with the date that [Darryl and Elizabeth] got married." Darryl testified that the plaque had been displayed in their residence at some point but "ha[d]n't been around for a long time." Elizabeth characterized the July 2011 wedding ceremony as "a renewal of the vows for the family to come and [her] to wear a wedding dress."

Darryl's uncle testified that he met Elizabeth in 1998 when the parties visited prior to moving to Nebraska. According to the uncle, they acted like a married couple and Darryl introduced Elizabeth as his wife at that time.

The parties did not have any children together; however, as noted above, Darryl had a daughter from a prior relationship, and Elizabeth had five children from a prior relationship. The children lived with the parties during their Colorado cohabitation and after they moved to Nebraska. Darryl testified that he raised Elizabeth's children as his own and that Elizabeth treated his daughter as her own. The parties’ children from prior relationships were no longer minors at the time these divorce proceedings were initiated.

There was evidence about the parties’ work history and living expenses. Darryl has a high school education and had started taking postsecondary education classes within the year preceding trial. While living in Colorado, Darryl "did a lot of odd jobs" and worked "mainly" for his grandfather. Once the parties moved to Nebraska, Darryl did "odd jobs" and "handyman, small construction" jobs until 2009, when the parties moved to Lexington and he obtained employment at a discount store. Darryl could not remember exactly how much he earned while working at the store, estimating "[m]aybe 12 tops." In 2011, while still employed at the store, Darryl started working at Baldwin Filter, Inc. (now known as Parker) in a "temp" position earning $10 an hour. Darryl was still employed at Parker at the time of trial as an assistant supervisor in the distribution center. Darryl testified that he changed jobs within the company in May 2019 and that in 2019, he earned approximately $86,000, which included overtime pay. Darryl testified that he would earn substantially less in 2020 than in 2019, partly due...