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The Plaintiff is Melissa Calice The Defendant is Tony Calice


 * In short**

Prior to moving to Maryland, the Plaintiff and Defendant lived beyond their economic means for the first six years of their marriage. After moving to Maryland, the Plaintiff and Defendant's income was able to support their lifestyle and pay down debt that was accumulated during those first six years.


 * Findings**

On August 6, 2005 the Plaintiff and the Defendant were married in Castle Farms Charlevoix, MI. Prior to marriage, the Plaintiff was sole employment income provider until Defendant later gained employment in September 2005. In December 2005, the Plaintiff and Defendant purchased a home in Royal Oak, MI at the peak of the Real Estate bubble In 2006 the Plaintiff enrolled and attended what became a protracted five year Masters Program In 2006 the Plaintiff gave birth to son Rocco (10/27/2006) In 2007 the Plaintiff reduced the growing family's income by resigning from her teaching job to stay at home while the children were in Day Care. In 2008: Net worth of -200k (see 2008 Calice Family Budget) In 2008 #GMbankruptcy, #GreatRecession #FederalStimulus falling wages in Detroit job market could no longer support Plaintiff and Defendant's lifestyles In 2009: Net worth of -208k (see 2009 Calice Family Budget) In 2009: the Plaintiff gave birth to daughter Amelia (4/25/2009) In 2009: The Defendant started commuting to the Baltimore, DC, Northern Virginia Area for better wages # FederalStimulus In 2009: The Defendant's revenue growth was offset by increased spending (ie New Cadillac, Cleaning Service, Day Care, School, Routine Bed Bug Exterminations due to Plaintiff's unpaid social work internships ) In 2010: Net-worth of -222k (see 2010 Calice Family Budget) In 2010: The Plaintiff and Defendant decided that their family's best shot at success was relocating from Royal Oak, MI to Cockeysville, MD In 2010: The Defendant's revenue growth was offset by increased spending (ie New Windows, Furnace, Water Heater, Day and Evening Care, Dog Daycare) In 2011: The Plaintiff and Defendant relocated to Cockeysville, MD *Extraordinary Expense associated with move - Michigan Rental Property Expenses: $39,819 (bad tenant, property damage, vacant house, ...)  In 2012: The Plaintiff returned to the work as a Social Worker in Towson, MD In 2012: The Plaintiff and Defendant's  income exceeded family's spending for the first time in history of marriage. The 2012 surplus was used to pay down debts incurred over the first seven years of marriage (ie Cadillac, Plaintiff's Personal Credit Accounts, Home Depot Credit, ...)


 * Narrative**

On August 6, 2005 the Plaintiff and the Defendant were married in Castle Farms Charlevoix, MI. Prior to marriage, the Plaintiff was sole employment income provider until Defendant later gained employment in September 2005. In December 2005, the Plaintiff and Defendant purchased a home in Royal Oak, MI at the peak of the Real Estate bubble.

In 2006 the Plaintiff enrolled and attended graduate classes at Wayne State University for the stated purpose of acquiring 18 credit hours to qualify for the Michigan Public Teacher Tenure Program. These 18 credits were financed by the Defendant selling his retirement funds and borrowing on his paid-off car that he came to the marriage with. This effort later turned into a protracted five year Masters Degree program. In the fall of 2006 the Plaintiff stated that she was temporarily leaving  her teaching position during her pregnancy, birth to son Rocco (10/27/2006).

In 2007 the Plaintiff and Defendant expected the birth of their second child when the Plaintiff surprisingly reduced the growing family's income by permanently resigning from her teaching job that she had just acquired tenure (financed by the Defendant). The Plaintiff’s stated purpose was that she wanted to be a stay at home mother. However, motherhood was overwhelming to the Plaintiff and the children were soon back in DayCare while the Plaintiff just stayed at home and worked on her Masters Degree. The Defendant was concerned about the negative impact this was having on family finances and began producing yearly financial statements to help the Plaintiff recognize that their lifestyle was damaging their finances

In 2008 the Plaintiff and Defendant had a Net worth of -200k (see ). In 2008 other significant economic factors (ie GM Bankruptcy, “The Great Recession”, and “Federal Stimulus”) resulted in falling wages in Detroit job market could no longer support Plaintiff and Defendant's lifestyles. When discussed, the Plaintiff refused to: 1) Stay at home with children to save on day care or 2) suspend her Masters program and resume her tenured teaching position. Meanwhile, the Defendant was surviving off of $2.50/day (lunch and breakfast) and wore hand-me-down clothes from family. Since he was unable to get the Plaintiff to agree to cut family expenses, he decided to try raising family income.

In 2009 the Plaintiff and Defendant had a Net Worth of -208k (see ). In 2009: the Plaintiff gave birth to daughter Amelia (4/25/2009). In 2009, The Defendant started commuting to the Baltimore, DC, Northern Virginia Area for better wages. The Defendant's revenue growth by consulting was immediately offset by increased spending (ie New Cadillac, Cleaning Service, Day Care & Evening Babysitter, Masters Program, and Routine Bed Bug Exterminations due to Plaintiff’s unpaid social work internships)

In 2010 the Plaintiff and Defendant had a Net Worth of -222k (see ). In 2010 the Plaintiff and Defendant decided that their family's best shot at success was relocating from Royal Oak, MI to Cockeysville, MD. Again, the Defendant's continued revenue growth was offset by increased spending (ie Cadillac Repairs, Vacations, Hotels, New Windows, Furnace, Water Heater, Day and Evening Care, Dog Daycare).

In 2011: The Plaintiff and Defendant relocated to Cockeysville, MD. The Defendant's revenue growth by consulting was offset by additional spending (Private Schools for Children and Moving Expenses). There were particularly <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">extraordinary expense associated with this move. Michigan Rental Property Expenses were $39,819 (bad tenant, property damage, mortgage and vacant house).

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In 2012, the Plaintiff returned to the work as a Social Worker in Towson, MD. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Plaintiff and Defendant's <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> income exceeded family's spending for the first time in history of marriage. The 2012 surplus was used to pay down debts incurred over the first seven years of <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">marriage (ie Cadillac, Credit Accounts, Mortgage, ...).