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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Salem Family Division No. 2005-604 IN THE MATTER OF JAMES J. PEIRANO AND SHARON L. LARSEN Argued: April 3, 2007 Opinion Issued: July 20, 2007 The Legal Connection, P.C., of Concord (Michael Bedard on the brief and orally), for the petitioner. Harvey & Mahoney, P.A., of Manchester (J. Campbell Harvey on the brief and orally), for the respondent. HICKS, J. The petitioner, James J. Peirano, Jr., appeals from a final order of the Salem Family Division (Hurd, J.). The respondent, Sharon L. Larsen, cross-appeals. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand. I. Background

The record supports the following. The petitioner and the respondent married in May 1991 and had one child in January 1992. In August 2000, a domestic violence final order was issued against the petitioner pursuant to RSA chapter 173-B (2002 & Supp. 2006) based upon the respondent's allegation that he assaulted her on July 14, 2000, while she was attempting to leave the house with their daughter. As a result, the petitioner was ordered to temporarily relinquish his numerous firearms and was prohibited from

purchasing or obtaining any firearms during the pendency of the order. See RSA 173-B:5, II (2002). The order also awarded custody of the parties' daughter to the respondent, while providing for unsupervised visitation with the petitioner three days a week. In November 2000, the Derry Family Division issued an ex parte order limiting the petitioner to supervised visitation for reasons which are unclear from the record. In conjunction with the domestic violence order, the Derry Family Division appointed a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) for the parties' daughter. In September 2000, the petitioner filed a petition for legal separation in the superior court, alleging that irreconcilable differences caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage. Following a temporary hearing in November 2000, the court issued an interim decree ordering the respondent to pay the petitioner $1,800 per month as temporary spousal support. The respondent and her attorney were not present at the hearing due to a mistake on their part regarding the date of the hearing. On November 18, 2000, the respondent filed a cross-petition seeking a fault-based divorce based upon the petitioner's extreme cruelty, or, in the alternative, the petitioner's treatment of the respondent which injured her health and endangered her reason. See RSA 458:7, III, V (2004). The respondent requested: a "disparate share" of the marital estate under RSA 458:16-a, II (2004) due in part to the fault of the petitioner; and a permanent restraining order consistent with the requirements of 18 U.S.C.

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