Man's Parkinson's disease leads to unusual setting aside of divorce settlement

Herald & Review, Georgia
By RON INGRAM - H&R Staff Writer
Updated: Saturday, January 13, 2007 11:58 PM CST
http://www.herald-review.com/article...ws/1020460.txt

DECATUR - A Macon County judge has set aside a 2004 uncontested divorce decree, opening the way for a man with Parkinson's disease to file an answer to his wife's original petition for divorce.

Presiding Judge John K. Greanias granted the request of Eugene "Ty" Eaton, 55, to set aside the decree. Bonnie Eaton, 51, filed for divorce on April 1, 2004. The divorce was granted on May 24, 2004, following a hearing that Eugene Eaton chose not to attend.

Eugene Eaton's petition to the court asked for the divorce judgment to be vacated and an equitable division made of the family residence on Thomas Road. He told Greanias that based on the home's assessed value, the property has a market value of about $100,000.

Greanias said any new filing by Eugene Eaton must be within four weeks of Thursday's hearing.

Both Eatons testified Thursday, painting a picture of a marriage they worked to preserve for 30 years in the face of the diagnosis in the late 1970s that the husband suffered from Parkinson's disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system characterized by tremors, involuntary movements and stiffness.

Eugene Eaton stopped working in 1980 and went on Social Security disability. His wife continued to work as a hair stylist, leasing a chair in a salon. The couple has two sons, both grown.

Eugene and Bonnie Eaton agreed in their testimony about the circumstances that led him in 2001 to deed his interest in their house to his wife. The house originally was sold to the couple by his parents for $35,000 with a $10,000 down payment and $25,000 to be paid under contract for deed.

At times, it was difficult to make the house payments with the family's limited income. Eugene Eaton's parents forgave the $17,000 remaining on the debt in 1994, and the property was placed jointly in Eugene and Bonnie Eaton's names.

Medical bills escalated for Eugene Eaton, and by 2001 the couple decided to place the house in Bonnie Eaton's name to preserve the house for her and their sons if he was sent to a nursing home. The house was transferred to Bonnie that year.

For the next three years, the couple lived in the residence. Bonnie Eaton acknowledged she did not file a gift tax return on the property, saying she did not know she needed to do so.

In 2003, Eugene Eaton underwent surgery to implant electrodes in his brain that doctors believed would help improve his motor skills. Eugene was interviewed for a December 2005 Herald & Review story about this procedure.

His attorney, John Barr, told Greanias that the procedure eventually worked, but Eaton took two years to heal from the surgery and at times during that period he experienced depression, confusion and episodes of anger.

Bonnie Eaton said her husband stayed in his room in 2003 and at times would throw things and bang around, actions that eventually contributed to the divorce.

Eugene Eaton's petition to the court stated during this period he was heavily medicated and dependent on his wife for transportation, banking and other financial decision making.

Bonnie Eaton obtained the divorce in the spring of 2004, citing irreconcilable differences. On Thursday, she said the irreconcilable differences were her inability to deal with Eugene's escalating medical bills. The couple continued to live together after the divorce, she upstairs and he downstairs in the house.

Eugene Eaton signed the divorce decree at home, but Bonnie Eaton said he never received formal notice of the legal proceeding, nor was the notary public who notarized his signature present when he signed the document. She said she did tell him about the divorce.

Both Eatons said they discussed the divorce as a means for Eugene to qualify for medical assistance from the state. He said he began receiving help with his medical bills shortly after the divorce, but he failed to realize the legal consequences of the divorce decree.