Bialik v. Bialik

Citations

• 215 Conn. App. 559

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court modifying the defendant's alimony obligation. The parties' separation agreement, which was incorporated into the judgment of dissolution, required the defendant to make weekly alimony payments of $2769.23 to the plaintiff, an amount that was nonmodifiable downward unless the defendant earned less than $350,000 in annual adjusted gross earnings. Adjusted gross earnings was defined in the separation agreement, in part, as gross business receipts less business expenses. The defendant claimed that a substantial decrease in his annual income from his dental practice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic constituted a change in circumstances that warranted a reduction in his alimony payments. The trial court heard expert testimony that the parties presented from accountants about the defendant's financial circumstances and his receipt of $159,000 in loans and grants the federal government distrib- uted in 2020 to businesses nationwide to help offset their loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both parties' accountants believed that the federal government would forgive the full amount of the loans. The plaintiff's accountant, T, determined that the defendant would not incur any federal income tax obligation due to the government's forgiveness of the loans and that the defendant would benefit from the deduction of payroll expenses on his corporate tax return. The defendant's accoun- tant, L, determined that the defendant had adjusted gross earnings of $240,123 in 2020, which did not include the funds received from the federal government, and that the proceeds of the loans would not reduce the defendant's expenses or be considered income or forgiveness of debt. The court concluded that the defendant had established a change in circumstances on the basis of L's determination that the defendant had adjusted gross earnings of $240,123