Dolan v. Dolan

Citations

• 213 Conn. App. 112

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court granting his motion to modify his unallocated alimony and child support obligation. In his motion, the plaintiff requested to modify certain provi- sions of the parties' separation agreement, which had been incorporated into the judgment of dissolution, on the basis of, inter alia, his loss of employment and decrease in income. The parties' separation agreement provided in relevant part that the plaintiff was required to pay unallo- cated alimony and child support to the defendant, which was calculated on the basis of the plaintiff's ''pre-tax compensation from employment'' and included a minimum payment per month. The separation agreement defined ''pre-tax compensation from employment'' to include any and all earnings of any nature whatsoever actually received by the plaintiff in the form of cash or cash equivalents, or which the plaintiff is entitled to receive, from any and all sources relating to the services rendered by the plaintiff by way of his current or future employment. At a hearing on the plaintiff's motion, the plaintiff claimed that he had no income, but, when asked, testified that he receives interest and dividend income that he had failed to list on his financial affidavit. The court subsequently granted the plaintiff's motion, finding that there was a substantial change in the parties' circumstances. The court ordered, inter alia, that the plaintiff was not required to pay the defendant a minimum amount of unallocated alimony and child support per month. The court also ordered, as proposed by the defendant, that the definition of ''pre-tax compensation from employment'' set forth in the parties' separation agreement be modified to include income from all sources, including passive income from capital gains, interest and dividends, and income from business interests and other investments. Held that the plaintiff