Groenings v. Groenings

• Decision Date: 02 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. ED 90180.,ED 90180.
• Parties: Sarah GROENINGS, Appellant, v. William A. GROENINGS, Sr., Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

277 S.W.3d 270

Sarah GROENINGS, Appellant, v. William A. GROENINGS, Sr., Respondent.

No. ED 90180.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Two.

December 2, 2008.

Rehearing Denied January 21, 2009.

Alan E. Freed, Clayton, for appellant.

M. Zane Yates, Clayton, for respondent.

GEORGE W. DRAPER III, Judge.

Sarah Groenings (hereinafter, "Wife") appeals from the trial court's judgment dissolving her marriage to William Groenings (hereinafter, "Husband"). Wife raises eight points on appeal with respect to the characterization and division of marital property, the allocation of marital debt, the award of attorneys' fees at trial and on appeal, and the absence of a legal description for the real properties divided at trial. We affirm in part, reverse and remand in part.

The parties were married on November 21, 1987, in Cook County, Illinois, and later moved to Missouri. Two children were born of the marriage and were unemancipated at the time of the dissolution. The parties separated on January 25, 2006, and Wife filed for dissolution on April 5, 2006. During the trial, the parties entered into a consent agreement resolving all pertinent issues with respect to the parties' obligations to the minor children, including legal and physical custody, visitation, and child support.

After receiving testimony and exhibits from each party, the trial court entered its judgment dissolving the marriage on July 11, 2007. The trial court divided the parties' property, allocated the marital debt, and entered an award of attorneys' fees in Husband's favor. Wife now appeals. To avoid repetition, additional facts will be elucidated as they pertain to Wife's points on appeal.

This Court reviews a judgment of dissolution in the same manner as we review any court-tried case. Wood v Wood, 193 S.W.3d 307, 310 (Mo.App. E.D. 2006). The judgment must be affirmed unless it is unsupported by substantial evidence, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. Id. (citing Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976)). We will not retry the case, but rather, accept as true the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the trial court's judgment, and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Slattery v. Slattery, 185 S.W.3d 692, 696 (Mo.App. E.D.2006). "This Court defers to the superior ability of the trial court to judge factors such as credibility, sincerity, character of the witnesses, and other intangibles not revealed in the transcript." Id.

Wife raises eight points on appeal. Wife's first and third points challenge the trial court's division of property, and therefore, we address them in tandem. In her first point, Wife argues the trial court erred in awarding Husband a disproportionate share of the net equity of the marital residence located at 520 East Monroe (hereinafter, "the Monroe property") based upon his contribution of separate property in that it was not supported by competent and substantial evidence.

The evidence adduced at trial revealed that prior to the marriage, Husband had an interest in a land trust dating back to 1979. After the parties were married and moved to St. Louis, the parties purchased a residence at 400 Lenore Avenue (hereinafter, "the Lenore property") for an undisclosed amount. Wife obtained a loan from her brother in the amount of $70,000, and Husband sold some of his holdings in the 1979 land trust for the remainder of the purchase price. Husband testified he sold additional holdings from the 1979 land trust in order to repay the loan from Wife's brother. The Lenore property was titled jointly between Husband and Wife.

The parties lived at the Lenore property for approximately two years. The Lenore property was then later sold, and the parties purchased a new residence at 1324 Wilton Lane (hereinafter, "the Wilton property") for $278,000. The Wilton property was titled jointly and the entire purchase price was derived from the Lenore property sales proceeds. The parties only resided at the Wilton property for two additional years when it was sold so that the parties could acquire the Monroe property. Again, the entire purchase price of $366,181 was derived from the Wilton property sale proceeds and the Monroe property was titled jointly. Both parties testified with respect to their opinion of the Monroe property's fair market value.

Upon receiving this testimony, the trial court found the Monroe property was marital property and determined its fair market value was approximately $1.1 million based upon the parties' testimony. The trial court then stated it would be more equitable to award the Monroe property to one of the parties instead of ordering the property be sold and the net proceeds divided equitably.

After reviewing each of the transactions from the time the parties purchased the Lenore property to the present, the trial court found that the total purchase price of the Monroe property was "derived from funds resulting from the sequence of cash/assets and transactions involving the assets and real estate [Husband] obtained" through the 1979 land trust. Further, the trial court found it was never Husband's intention for these assets and those properties to be shared with Wife. Moreover, the trial court determined Husband never intended, nor did he actually convert those assets and proceeds from the sale of the 1979 land trust holdings so as to give Wife any rights of ownership or marital interests. As such, the trial court deemed the monies used to purchase the Monroe property were "the separate property of [Husband] derived from premarital interests."

Wife's first point challenges these findings. Specifically, Wife argues the evidence showed Husband deliberately titled the marital residences jointly, thus revealing an intent to convert his separate property contribution into marital property. Further, Wife argues the record does not contain any evidence of the amount of Husband's base contribution to the purchase of the parties' first jointly titled marital residence, the Lenore property. As such, Wife argues the trial court did not have a baseline upon which to determine the amount of Husband's initial separate contribution. We agree.

Generally, when a spouse acquires property prior to the marriage and retains separate title to it after marriage, that property is deemed separate upon dissolution of the marriage. Vinson v. Vinson, 243 S.W.3d 418, 423 (Mo.App. E.D.2007); In re Marriage of Thomas, 199 S.W.3d 847, 863 (Mo.App. S.D.2006). A statutory presumption exists, however, that all property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage is marital property. Section 452.330.2 RSMo (2000).¹ "The party challenging the presumption must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that property is nonmarital." Wood, 193 S.W.3d at 312. "The clear and convincing evidence standard refers to evidence that `instantly tilts the scales in the affirmative when weighed against the evidence in opposition, and the fact finder's mind is left with an abiding conviction that the evidence is true.'" Hoecker v. Hoecker, 188 S.W.3d 497, 500 (Mo.App.W.D.2006)(quoting McCoy v. McCoy, 159 S.W.3d 473, 475 (Mo.App. W.D.2005)).

Here, it is clear the Monroe property was titled jointly, acquired after the date of the marriage, and prior to the dissolution of the parties' marriage. Therefore, the Monroe property is presumed to be marital property, unless Husband proves that it was acquired by a method listed in Section 452.330.2. See Preston v. Preston, 189 S.W.3d 685, 689 (Mo.App. W.D.2006). We then examine the record to see if Husband has overcome this presumption by producing clear and convincing evidence that "both parties intend that the property be excluded from their marital property." Hoberock v. Hoberock, 164 S.W.3d 26, 30 (Mo.App. E.D.2005).

Husband does not dispute the Lenore, Wilton, and Monroe properties were marital properties; yet, he agrees with the trial court's assessment that he did not intend to convert his separate funds from the 1979 land trust into marital property. Moreover, Husband argues his monetary contributions to the purchase of each home entitled him to a larger distribution of the net equity of the Monroe property. Our review of the record indicates otherwise.

Transmutation arises when one spouse converts non-marital property into marital property by gift or by express or implied agreement. Hoecker, 188 S.W.3d at 500. "When a spouse places his [or her] non-marital property into the names of both spouses, then a rebuttable presumption arises that the property has been transmuted into marital property." Id.; See also, Winter v. Winter, 167 S.W.3d 239, 244 (Mo.App. S.D.2005); Selby v. Selby, 149 S.W.3d 472, 484 (Mo.App. W.D.2004). The spouse seeking to rebut this presumption must demonstrate through clear and convincing evidence that he or she did not intend a gift to his or her spouse. Hoecker, supra. "Self-serving testimony that a spouse did not intend a gift is entitled to little weight when that spouse caused separate property to be transferred to the spouses jointly." Winter, 167 S.W.3d at 244.

Here, Husband claims he made it clear at trial he did not intend to share the proceeds of the 1979 land trust assets with Wife when he used those proceeds to buy the Lenore property as a joint marital residence. Our review of the record reveals Husband merely requested reimbursement for the entire purchase price of the Monroe property at trial. We find this statement fails to rise to the level of clear and convincing evidence demonstrating Husband's intent, especially when examining Husband's testimony as a whole. This finding is bolstered by the pains Husband took to keep other properties he acquired during the marriage his separate property. The record reveals Husband sold additional assets from the 1979 land trust in order to purchase additional properties which...