R. D. v. G. D.

Summary

The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed the judgment dissolving the parties’ marriage and awarding the plaintiff sole legal and physical custody of the children without visitation for the defendant. The court upheld the alimony, child support, life insurance, and pendente lite alimony orders, including the exclusion of distributions from an inherited IRA from the plaintiff’s income for child support purposes. The court declined to review the attorney’s fee challenge because the defendant failed to provide a complete transcript and adequately preserve or brief the issue.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by awarding the plaintiff sole legal and physical custody and denying the defendant visitation because it expressly found that visitation was not in the children's best interests and made detailed findings concerning the defendant's parental unfitness and the physical and psychological danger he posed.
2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by considering the defendant's postseparation but predissolution increase in income in making an initial alimony award.
3. The trial court had statutory authority to award pendente lite alimony at the time of the dissolution judgment, with the award effective from a date permitted by the governing statute.
4. Mandatory distributions from an inherited IRA are not income for purposes of calculating child support under the Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines when the beneficiary already owns the funds and may withdraw them at any time without penalty.
5. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by ordering the defendant to maintain a $700,000 life-insurance policy as security for his child-support obligations.
6. The appellate court declined to review the defendant's challenge to the $20,000 attorney's-fee award because he failed to provide a complete transcript and failed to articulate an objection to the fee request before the trial court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by awarding the plaintiff sole legal and physical custody and denying the defendant visitation.
2. Whether the trial court improperly relied on the defendant's postseparation but predissolution increase in income in awarding initial periodic alimony.
3. Whether the trial court had authority to award pendente lite alimony at the time of the dissolution judgment retroactive to a date after the filing of the application.
4. Whether mandatory distributions from the plaintiff's inherited IRA constituted income for purposes of calculating child support.
5. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by ordering the defendant to maintain a $700,000 life-insurance policy as security for child support.
6. Whether the defendant's challenge to the $20,000 attorney's-fee award was reviewable despite an incomplete transcript and failure to preserve the objection.

Disposition

affirmed