Simmons v. Simmons

Facts

Duncan Simmons (Plaintiff) and Aura Simmons (Defendant) married each other at age twenty-three and forty-three, respectively. The couple had no children of their own, but Defendant had six children from a previous marriage. During their marriage, Plaintiff earned an undergraduate degree and a medical degree. Defendant also obtained two associate degrees, one as a surgical technician and one in nursing. Each paid their own educational expenses and each was employed until Plaintiff started attending medical school, at which point only Defendant earned income for the family. She thus provided financial and emotional support and served as a homemaker during that time. Three years into his five-year residency, Plaintiff filed for divorce. At trial, Defendant sought to have Plaintiff’s medical degree declared marital property subject to equitable distribution. At the time, she was fifty-six years old and earned a combined $100,000 that year and the previous year; he was thirty-six and earning $45,660 annually as a resident. She presented expert testimony that the medical degree reasonably equated to an estimated $3.1 million in future earnings reduced to present value. The trial court refused to recognize the medical degree as property, dissolved the marriage, and denied alimony to both parties. Defendant appealed.