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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 8-787 / 08-0352 Filed December 31, 2008

IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF ROBERT ALAN GENAW AND LOUISE MARIE GENAW Upon the Petition of ROBERT ALAN GENAW, Petitioner-Appellant, And Concerning LOUISE MARIE GENAW, Respondent-Appellee. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Alan L. Pearson, Judge.

Robert Genaw appeals from various provisions of the parties' dissolution decree. AFFIRMED.

Robert J. Murphy, Dubuque, for appellant. Robert L. Sudmeier and Jenny L. Harris of Fuerste, Carew, Coyle, Juergens & Sudmeier, P.C., Dubuque, for appellee.

Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield, J. and Robinson, S.J. *
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2007).

2 POTTERFIELD, J. Robert Genaw appeals from various provisions of the parties ' dissolution decree. We affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. Robert and Louise Genaw were married in May 1993 in Michigan. They have three children: a son, age twelve at the time of trial; a daughter, age nine; and a daughter, age six. Their son has several medical conditions, which have required extensive medical treatment at times. otherwise healthy and active. Robert and Louise moved to Iowa in 2002 at which time Robert began working for John Deere. Robert has an advanced degree in electrical The children are, however,

engineering and works as a supply-based manager. His job requires extensive travel, both domestic and international, and he was away from the family home up to seventy percent of the time. His annual salary is approximately $87,000. He has received a bonus every year while working for John Deere: in 2006 the bonus was $16,933.60, and in 2007 he was expecting between $24,000 and $25,000. Louise attended Wayne State (as did Robert) and worked toward a degree in chemical engineering. While her name appeared in the commencement

program for 1994, she apparently was three courses short of graduation requirements. She worked seasonally for McGraw-Hill (August through

December and January through May) earning $10.98 per hour. She does not work in the summer. Louise has historically been the primary caregiver of the children, due in large part to Robert's extensive travel. She takes the children to

3 music lessons, has been a den mother for her son's scout troop, and has coached her daughter's soccer team. Louise was also in charge of the parties' finances: Robert's paychecks were directly deposited in the bank and Louise was responsible for paying the bills. Over the course of the marriage, the parties accumulated approximately $100,000 in credit card debt, of which Robert apparently was unaware. When Robert learned of some of this debt an argument ensued, which resulted in Louise leaving the house with the children and filing for a protective order. Robert filed a petition for dissolution. Robert and Louise each sought an award of physical care of the children. Following a trial, the district court entered a decree of dissolution. The court found the parties' credit card debt "excessive and extremely unusual." The court found: "It is clear that the respondent was in charge of the family finances and that the credit card debt was incurred largely through her activity. In

addition, she deceived the petitioner as to the existence of such debt." However, the court noted that no evidence was offered to dispute that the debt was incurred for the purchase of goods and services for the family. "As a result, all of the debt of the parties is considered marital debt and is divided accordingly." The court ordered the marital residence and specific other property sold, the proceeds of which were to pay off the credit card debt. Any remaining balance of the debt was to be evenly divided. The court found both parties fit to serve as custodians of the children. The court noted that Louise had been the primary caregiver for the children and that the relationship between Robert and his son was strained. The court awarded

4 joint legal custody and concluded joint physical care was inappropriate. Robert was granted liberal visitation. The court determined Robert's income was $107,000 annually and based his child support obligation upon that amount. Robert was ordered to pay

rehabilitative alimony in the amount of $300 per month for twenty-four months to enable Louise to "refresh her professional skills in the field of chemic al engineering." Robert now appeals the custody, property distribution, and child support provisions of the parties' dissolution decree. We affirm.1 II. Scope and Standard of Review. Our standard of review in this equitable proceeding is de novo. Iowa R. App. P. 6.4. We examine the entire record and adjudicate anew rights on the issues properly presented. In re Marriage of Ales, 592 N.W.2d 698, 702 (Iowa Ct. App. 1999). We give weight to the district court's findings of fact, especially in determining the credibility of witnesses, but are not bound by them. Iowa R. App. P. 6.14(6)( g ). III. Custody. Robert asserts the district court should have awarded him and Louise joint physical care of the children. Joint physical care means an award of physical care of a child to both parents. 598.41(5)(a) provides: If joint legal custody is awarded to both parents, the court may award joint physical care to both joint custodial parents upon the
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