Smart v. Smart

Summary

The Delaware Supreme Court reversed and remanded a Family Court order dividing marital property and awarding permanent alimony. The Court held that the Family Court failed to address the wife's pension and the husband's claims for credits relating to household expenses and marital debt discharged in bankruptcy. It also held that the alimony award was unsupported because the record did not establish that the wife's mental health issues prevented full-time employment.

Holdings

1. The Family Court erred by failing to address and equitably divide Wife's State pension as part of the marital-property division.
2. The Family Court was required to address Husband's claims for credit for post-separation household payments and for the financial harm resulting from discharging marital debt in bankruptcy, although the court was not required to rule in Husband's favor.
3. An alimony award based on an unsupported finding that Wife's mental-health issues prevented full-time employment was reversible error.
4. The Supreme Court would not consider for the first time on appeal Husband's claims for more than 50% of the home-sale proceeds based on changed circumstances or his challenge to the calculation of his take-home pay.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Family Court erred by failing to address Wife's State pension in its equitable division of marital assets.
2. Whether the Family Court erred by failing to address Husband's claims for credit for post-separation household payments and for the financial harm associated with discharging marital debt in bankruptcy.
3. Whether the Family Court improperly awarded alimony based on an unsupported finding that Wife's mental-health issues prevented full-time employment.
4. Whether Husband could obtain appellate consideration of his claims for a greater share of home-sale proceeds based on changed circumstances and alleged errors in calculating his take-home pay when those claims were not presented below.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded