Maxwell v. Sosnowski

         Appeal from the Superior Court of the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Superior Court No. 3AN-13-07451 CI Andrew Guidi, Judge.

          Darryl L. Thompson, Law Office of Darryl L. Thompson, P.C., Anchorage, for Appellant.

          Jody W. Sutherland, Sutherland Law Offices, Anchorage, for Appellee.

          Before: Stowers, Chief Justice, Winfree, Maassen, Bolger, and Carney, Justices.

          OPINION

          BOLGER, Justice.

         I. INTRODUCTION

         The superior court divided the property of J. Jill Maxwell and William J. Sosnowski during divorce proceedings. The superior court found that William was entitled to credit for post-separation mortgage payments that he made on the marital residence, but it did not determine the precise amount of those credits because the sale of the residence was pending. After the residence ultimately sold nearly two years later, the superior court issued a disbursement order that granted William credit for mortgage payments dating back to October 2011, when he moved out of the marital residence, rather than May 31, 2013, which the court had found to be the separation date. Jill appeals the effective date of the credit for these post-separation payments in the disbursement order. She also challenges consideration of the funds she provided to her adult son during the marriage in the property division order. We vacate the disbursement order because Williamis entitled to credit only for payments he made after the separation date. But we conclude that Jill's argument regarding the funds she gave her son is untimely because the property division order became final in December 2014.

         II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

         A. Facts

         J. Jill Maxwell and William J. Sosnowski married in 1992. At the time of the marriage, Jill was widowed and had one child, Anton, from her prior marriage; William was divorced and had two children from his prior marriage. Jill and William also had two children during their marriage. Since 2001, William has been employed by the Municipality of Anchorage as an electronics foreman. Jill held a variety of jobs during the marriage, among them managing the rental units owned by the couple.

         During the marriage, Jill and William purchased a triplex (along with an adjacent vacant lot) in Anchorage. They lived in one of the triplex units and rented the other two units to tenants. In addition to this Anchorage property, Jill and William owned a home in Oregon, in which Anton lived. The purchase of the Oregon home was funded in part by $50, 000 from Anton's savings. Jill also paid for Anton's living expenses after he reached majority, which was apparently a point of contention during the marriage. At the time of the divorce, Anton was 29 years old.

          B. Proceedings

         1. Separation and divorce trial

         Jill and William permanently separated on May 31, 2013, and Jill filed a complaint for legal separation on June 4. On June 26 William counterclaimed for divorce. Jill and William reached an agreement on child custody and child support and filed a stipulation with the superior court, which it approved. They also agreed on the division of their personal property, that the triplex and lot would be ...