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Johnson v. Johnson9/14/2000
arent of the child. 688 A.2d at 476. We determine there is no requirement that a party to a contract to adopt, who brings a suit to enforce that contract, must be the child's natural parent, and also that child support is a natural and proper subject in a divorce action. We conclude Madonna's status as a party to the contract to adopt and as the individual now acting as the child's mother by equitable adoption makes her "sufficiently affected" so that she presents a justiciable controversy.
D.
[ ] North Dakota's law has recognized the doctrine of equitable adoption for six decades and developed this equitable remedy to protect children. Our case law has consistently upheld this doctrine. The public policy of our state supports application of the doctrine to impose a child support obligation under certain circumstances and nothing in our law forbids it. However, whether the particular facts and circumstances of this case establish that Jessica was equitably adopted and warrant application of the doctrine to impose a child support obligation upon Antonyio is a factual question which must be resolved by the trial court. 2 Am. Jur. 2d, Adoption § 53 at 932 (1994). Thus, we reverse the trial court judgment concluding Antonyio is not Jessica's equitable parent. We remand for the trial court to make findings of fact and to apply the law set forth in this opinion.
III.
[ ] Madonna argues the trial court's refusal to divide the parties' military pensions, using the Bullock formula, was clearly erroneous. From the record before us, we are unable to determine the rationale underlying the trial court's decision. Therefore, we remand for the trial court to clarify its findings and reasoning.
[ ] Under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24, a trial court must make such equitable distribution of the marital property of divorcing parties, "as may seem just and proper." The trial court's determinations regarding property division are treated as findings of fact which this Court will not reverse unless clearly erroneous. N.D.R.Civ.P. 52(a); Mellum v. Mellum, 2000 ND 47, 14, 607 N.W.2d 580. There is no set formula for this division, but rather it should be based on the facts of the case. Mellum, at 14.
[ ] In dividing property, the trial court is to use the Ruff-Fischer guidelines, considering the following factors:
the respective ages of the parties to the marriage; their earning abilities; the duration of the marriage and the conduct of each during the marriage; their station in life; the circumstances and necessities of each; their health and physical conditions; their financial circumstances as shown by the property owned at the time; its value and income-producing capacity, if any, and whether it was accumulated or acquired before or after the marriage; and such other matters as may be material. Kautzman v. Kautzman, 1998 ND 192, 9, 585 N.W.2d 561.
The distribution need not be equal to be equitable, but the trial court must explain a substantial disparity in the division. Fox v. Fox, 1999 ND 68, 7, 592 N.W.2d 541. We do not require the trial court to make specific findings; however it must indicate its rationale in distributing the property. Weigel v. Weigel, 2000 ND 16, 6, 604 N.W.2d 462. We will remand for clarification of missing or conclusory findings when we are unable to determine the trial court's rationale through inference and deduction. Mellum, at 16.
[ ] We have held that federal military retirement pensions are divisible martial property assets. Bullock v. Bullock, 354 N.W.2d 904, 907-08 (N.D. 1984). In Bullock, we approved a formula for distributing such pensions: the years of marriage divided by the numb
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