Levy v. Bernstein

Barnes, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This appeal is from the decree of Judge Cardin dated and filed on May 29, 1964 in the Circuit Court No. 2 of Baltimore City in which he amended the decree of December 29, 1962 in the divorce suit between the parties by increasing the support of Faye Levy, the infant daughter of the parties, from $25.00 to $35.00 a week as of May 18, 1964, and provided that the support money be paid through the Probation Department of Baltimore City. The background of the case is set forth in a previous appeal involving the same parties. See Levy v. Levy, 229 Md. 103, 181 A. 2d 663 .

In the prior case Judge Cardin was also Chancellor, and granted the wife permanent alimony and custody of of the infant child. The alimony granted was $10.00 a week, the support money for the infant was $20.00 a week, a total of $30.00 a week which Dr. Levy was required to pay. At that time the infant was eleven (11) months old. A bill of complaint for a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, custody of the infant, permanent alimony and support money for the infant was filed by Mrs. Levy on November 20, 1962.

In Dr. Levy’s answer to the bill of complaint, he alleged that he had “only been practicing in Norfolk, Virginia for a short period of time and his present income is barely adequate to meet his expenses.” On December 22, 1962, the parties entered into a written agreement in which the right of alimony by the wife -was relinquished and the support money for the infant was increased from $20.00 to $25.00' a week. This agreement was incorporated into the decree of December 29, 1962 granting Mrs. Levy an absolute divorce, the court, however, retaining jurisdiction over the infant and the allowance and payment of support money for the infant. ⁵⁵⁴ Mrs. Levy, after her absolute divorce, married Alan Bernstein, a member of the Bar of the State of New York. She moved to Buffalo, New York and took her infant daughter, Faye Levy, with her. Dr. Levy’s visitation rights were modified to meet this new situation.

In her petition of January 2,ri1964 to increase the support money for the infant daughter, Mrs. Bernstein alleged in paragraph 7 that the expenses of raising the infant have increased to the point where $25.00 a week would not meet these expenses. She prayed that the amount of support money be increased from $25.00 to $45.00 a week payable through the Probation Department of Baltimore City and that Dr. Levy be required to pay a nursery bill of $60.00 and future payments with respect to nursery schools. The Chancellor at the hearing on the petition for increase of support money and Dr. Levy’s answer to that petition heard the testimony of Mrs. Bernstein and of Dr. Levy. Mrs. Bernstein indicated that costs of maintaining Faye had substantially increased as Faye had become older.

She testified in regard