In re Marriage of Crilly, 04-752.

• Decision Date: 12 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-752.,04-752.
• Citation: 124 P.3d 1151,2005 MT 311,329 Mont. 479
• Parties: In re the MARRIAGE OF Irene CRILLY, Petitioner and Respondent, and Donald Crilly, Respondent and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

124 P.3d 1151

2005 MT 311

329 Mont. 479

In re the MARRIAGE OF Irene CRILLY, Petitioner and Respondent, and Donald Crilly, Respondent and Appellant.

No. 04-752.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs July 26, 2005.

Decided December 12, 2005.

For Appellant: Timothy J. Whalen; Whalen & Whalen, Billings, Montana.

For Respondent: Jill Deann LaRance; LaRance, Syth & Schwartz, Billings, Montana.

Chief Justice KARLA M. GRAY delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Donald Crilly appeals from the judgment of the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, dissolving his marriage to Irene Crilly. We affirm.

¶ 2 The issues are:

¶ 3 1. Did the District Court abuse its discretion in valuing and distributing the marital estate?

¶ 4 2. Did the District Court err in awarding Irene maintenance in the amount of $1,000 per month?

¶ 5 3. Did the District Court abuse its discretion in adopting Irene's proposed findings of fact?

BACKGROUND

¶ 6 Irene and Donald Crilly had been married for 43 years when their marriage was dissolved in 2004. They were 69 and 70 years of age, respectively, and their children had all attained adulthood. The only contested issues in the dissolution proceeding were property valuation and distribution, and the maintenance sought by Irene.

¶ 7 The District Court valued the parties' marital assets at $635,943.08 and their liabilities at $85,383.73. It found that each of the parties had brought either pre-marital or inherited assets to the marital estate, the primary assets of which were two tracts of real property. In light of the parties' debts and limited income, the court determined it would be reasonable for them to sell their 100-acre, undeveloped tract of land to pay off their liabilities and capital gains taxes on the land, and then equally divide any remaining proceeds. The court further found that the parties' second tract of real property—consisting of four undeveloped parcels and a fifth parcel on which their home was located—should be divided between them, with Irene receiving two unimproved 10-acre parcels and the 10-acre parcel on which the home was built. The court awarded Donald the remaining 10- and 12-acre parcels, stock valued at $2,753.32, three airplane hangars and his $8,000 partial interest in an airplane. The court also valued and awarded each party miscellaneous personal property and bank accounts held in his or her name and, with the parties' agreement, awarded each of them half of Donald's $689 monthly pension. The court's net distributions to each party, in addition to half of the monthly pension and half of the proceeds of the land sale after liabilities and capital gains taxes are paid, are $228,416 to Irene and $267,527.08 to Donald.

¶ 8 The District Court found Donald received Social Security benefits of $1,281 per month, and Irene received Social Security benefits of $426 per month. Donald was in fair health and was able to work part time. He rented his three airplane hangars to others and managed two additional hangars; he also held part-time jobs. The court found Irene was in poor health and had no opportunity to acquire assets or future income and, as a result, the division of assets and maintenance must provide for her for the rest of her life. The court ordered Donald to pay Irene $1,000 each month as maintenance.

¶ 9 Donald appeals.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 10 We review the district court's findings of fact in a dissolution proceeding to determine whether they are clearly erroneous. A finding is clearly erroneous if it is not supported by substantial evidence, the district court misapprehended the effect of the evidence or our review of the record convinces us that the district court made a mistake. Bock v. Smith, 2005 MT 40, ¶ 14, 326 Mont. 123, ¶ 14, 107 P.3d 488, ¶ 14 (citations omitted). Absent clearly erroneous findings, we will affirm a district court's division of property and award of maintenance unless we identify an abuse of discretion. In re Marriage of Payer, 2005 MT 89, ¶ 9, 326 Mont. 459, ¶ 9, 110 P.3d 460, ¶ 9 (citation omitted). A district court abuses its discretion if it acts arbitrarily without conscientious judgment or exceeds the bounds of reason, resulting in substantial injustice. In re Marriage of Kotecki, 2000 MT 254, ¶ 9, 301 Mont. 460, ¶ 9, 10 P.3d 828, ¶ 9.

ISSUE 1

¶ 11 Did the District Court abuse its discretion in valuing and distributing the marital estate?

¶ 12 A trial court must "equitably apportion between the parties the property and assets belonging to either or both, however and whenever acquired[.]" Section 40-4-202(1), MCA. In dividing property acquired prior to the marriage or by inheritance, the court must consider the contributions of the other spouse to the marriage, including the nonmonetary contributions of a homemaker, the extent to which such contributions have facilitated the maintenance of the property and whether the property division serves as an alternative to maintenance arrangements. Section 40-4-202(1), MCA.

¶ 13 Donald challenges two aspects of the District Court's determination and valuation of the marital estate. First, he asserts his inheritance from his parents in the late 1980s—with which he purchased the airplane hangars and the interest in the airplane—should not have been included in the marital estate. Second, he contends the evidence at trial does not support the court's valuations of over 20 vehicles and pieces of farm equipment stored in the parties' yard.

¶ 14 Donald makes passing reference to § 40-4-202, MCA, and Siefke v. Siefke, 2000 MT 281, 302 Mont. 167, 13 P.3d 937, for the proposition that inherited property that has not been co-mingled with the marital estate, or property that can be clearly traced to inherited property, must be excluded from the marital estate. He is correct that, in Siefke, ¶¶ 12-13, we quoted § 40-4-202(1), MCA, and then affirmed the trial court's exclusion from the marital estate of an advance on an inheritance.

¶ 15 Exclusion of inherited property from a marital estate is not, however, an absolute rule. In In re Marriage of Foreman, 1999 MT 89, 294 Mont. 181, 979 P.2d 193, the husband had inherited a farm in Nebraska at the beginning of the parties' nineteen-year marriage. The wife admitted she had provided no contribution whatsoever to the acquisition or maintenance of the farm, but the district court nevertheless included the farm in the marital estate on equitable grounds that the marital estate had been substantially dissipated in reliance on the husband's representation that his inheritance would enable the couple to pay their sizable marital bills when they decided to retire. We affirmed. Marriage of Foreman, ¶¶ 22-23.

¶ 16 In the present case, like in Marriage of Foreman, adequate grounds exist for including the inheritance in the marital estate. The District Court found that both parties contributed pre-marital and/or inherited assets to the marital estate: Irene's pre-marital assets and inheritance from her parents enabled them to obtain their 100-acre tract of land, and Donald's inheritance purchased the airplane hangars and interest in the airplane. It also found that Irene maintained the family home, solely performed all household chores, prepared all of the family meals and contributed labor on the family farm. The court then found that, "[g]iven the length of the marriage and both parties' contributions, all assets should be considered as part of the marital estate."

¶ 17 Under the circumstances presented here, we cannot conclude the District Court's inclusion of the airplane hangars and the interest in the airplane in the marital estate is an abuse of discretion.

¶ 18 Donald also contends the court erred in failing to state its reasons for adopting Irene's values for the parties' vehicles and farm equipment instead of the values he proposed. Donald points out that, where there is a dispute over property value in a marriage dissolution and the values are widely conflicting, the court must state its reasons for the value it adopts. See In re Marriage of Taylor (1993), 257 Mont. 122, 127, 848 P.2d 478, 481.

¶ 19 The Marriage of Taylor requirement for "reasons" arises only when the values diverge widely; otherwise, the district court may select any value within the range of values supported by the evidence. Marriage of Taylor, 257 Mont. at 127, 848 P.2d at 481. A district court's valuation of marital property may be premised on expert testimony, lay testimony, documentary evidence or any combination thereof, as long as the valuation is reasonable in light of the evidence submitted. In re Marriage of Helzer, 2004 MT 352, ¶ 15, 324 Mont. 371, ¶ 15, 102 P.3d 1263, ¶ 15 (citation omitted).

¶ 20 In this regard, we observe that parties to a dissolution of marriage have a duty to assist the trial court in acquiring the information the court needs to determine an appropriate distribution of marital property. When a party fails to introduce credible evidence of value, the trial court is free to utilize credible evidence of value submitted by the other party. Marriage of Foreman, ¶ 37 (citations omitted).

¶ 21 Here, the differences in personal property values offered by Donald and Irene were relatively minor in relation to the total value of the marital estate; in fact, the court stated in Finding No. 16 that the parties agreed on the distribution, if not the values, of the property and that, even if the values were adjusted, the net division of the marital estate would remain equitable. In addition, after Donald testified to his valuations of the vehicles and farm equipment, he admitted on cross-examination that he had listed only three vehicles in response to Irene's discovery request for a list of the values of "any and all vehicles including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicles, [and] motorcycles" in which he had an interest, whereas the evidence from both parties at trial was that they owned...