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Walton v. Walton
Citation: 409 So. 2d 858Docket: Civ. 2941
Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama; January 19, 1982; Alabama; State Appellate Court
Robert A. Walton, Jr. appealed a decision from the Circuit Court of Jefferson County in a divorce case involving Teresa R. Walton. The couple, married on May 11, 1977, had one daughter and were divorced on October 19, 1979, with the decree granting Teresa custody, child support from Robert, and the marital home to Robert, who was to pay Teresa $1,500 for her interest. After the divorce, Teresa intermittently moved back into the marital home, and both parties engaged in transactions as if they were still married, including selling the Ensley home and attempting to purchase a farm, which ultimately led to buying a house in Pleasant Grove. In June 1980, Teresa moved out completely, and both began adhering to the initial divorce decree. In December 1980, Robert sought to set aside the deed for the Pleasant Grove house to claim sole ownership, while Teresa argued they had entered into a common-law marriage and requested a divorce and property division. The Circuit Court found that their actions indicated a reestablished marriage and granted a new divorce with terms similar to the original decree, including selling the Pleasant Grove house and equally dividing the proceeds, along with Robert paying Teresa $500 in alimony and $1,000 in attorney fees. Robert contended the court's decisions were erroneous and appealed the ruling. Appellant presents three issues for the court's determination: (1) whether post-divorce conduct established a common-law marriage; (2) whether it was an error for the court to order the sale of the Pleasant Grove property, divide the proceeds, and require appellant to pay appellee $500 in alimony and her attorney's fees; and (3) whether the court erred by not allowing appellant to present excluded evidence. Regarding the first issue, the court concluded that sufficient evidence supported the existence of a common-law marriage, which requires a mutual agreement to marry, legal capacity, cohabitation, and public acknowledgment of the relationship. Evidence included the couple living and conducting financial transactions as husband and wife, filing joint tax returns, maintaining a joint bank account, and being introduced as spouses. The court emphasized that claims of common-law marriage are scrutinized closely and affirmed the trial court's finding of a marital relationship based on the evidence presented. For the second issue, the court found no error in the order to sell the Pleasant Grove house and divide the proceeds equally. The judgment of the trial court was upheld. No abuse of discretion was found in the award of $500.00 alimony in gross and $1,000.00 in attorney's fees to the appellee. The trial court's decisions regarding property division and alimony are discretionary and typically upheld on appeal unless there is a clear abuse. The appellee's interest in the marital home and custody of the minor child justified the awards made. Both parties contributed to the marriage, and there was mutual fault leading to the divorce. The appellant argued that the circuit court erred in not allowing him to present an offer of proof regarding excluded evidence, but generally, such offers are necessary only when the expected answer is not apparent. In this case, the excluded testimony from Officer Logan about a conversation with the appellant concerning their marital status was deemed to have been improperly excluded but was not considered reversible error, as it would likely have had minimal impact on the case's outcome. Consequently, the judgment of the trial court was affirmed, and the appellee was awarded an additional $350.00 for attorney's fees.