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Nelson v. Nelson
Citations: 2004 UT App 254; 97 P.3d 722; 505 Utah Adv. Rep. 19; 2004 Utah App. LEXIS 85; 2004 WL 1695932Docket: 20040148-CA
Court: Court of Appeals of Utah; July 29, 2004; Utah; State Appellate Court
Collins C. Nelson (Husband) appeals the denial of his petition to modify the divorce decree to terminate his alimony obligation to Sharon B. Nelson (Wife). Wife seeks summary affirmance while Husband seeks summary reversal. Under Utah law, the court retains jurisdiction to modify alimony based on a substantial and unforeseeable change in circumstances since the divorce decree. To modify the decree, the moving party must demonstrate such a change has occurred. The district court identified Husband's claim of entitlement to retire as the basis for his petition. It found that if Husband had retired prior to filing, he could meet the change requirement but might not receive the relief sought, potentially affecting his ability to pay alimony. Conversely, if he cannot petition for modification based on prospective retirement, he may not afford to retire. The court assessed the financial situations of both parties, noting that Wife did not provide comprehensive evidence regarding her anticipated retirement benefits, impacting Husband's ability to argue for alimony termination post-retirement. Ultimately, the court concluded that regardless of Husband's potential retirement, the circumstances did not justify modifying the current alimony award of $400 per month. It noted that at the time of the petition and the court’s decision, Husband had not yet retired, rendering the issues unripe for judicial determination. The court referenced the "doctrine of ripeness for adjudication," emphasizing that a justiciable controversy requires an actual or imminent legal conflict, rather than hypothetical future scenarios. In Adelman v. Adelman, the Utah Court of Appeals addressed the ripeness of a petition to modify a divorce decree concerning survivorship benefits. The wife had received a ruling that granted her these benefits; however, she had remarried before age fifty-five, rendering her ineligible under the decree. Her appeal was deemed moot because she could not claim benefits due to her remarriage, and the court found her arguments about potential future rights insufficient to warrant appellate review. The court concluded that the issue was not ripe for consideration, as the husband had not retired when he filed his petition, nor at the time of the court's decision. The husband's petition failed to establish a substantial material change in circumstances necessary for judicial determination. Furthermore, the husband's request for a new trial based on an incomplete transcript was denied since the lack of a transcript did not impede the appeal’s resolution due to the undisputed facts regarding his retirement status. The court affirmed the dismissal of the petition and remanded for an award of costs and attorney fees to the wife for the appeal, as she had prevailed on the main issues.