Kaladic v. Kaladic
| Decision Date | 19 October 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 77-914,77-914 |
| Parties | In re the Marriage of Grace M. KALADIC, Appellant, v. Louis E. KALADIC, Appellee. . II |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Shuey & O'Malley, P. C., Phil J. Shuey, Denver, Colo., Holme, Roberts & Owen, William S. Huff, Denver, Colo., for appellant.
Larry D. Myers, Colorado Springs, Colo., for appellee.
During the course of discovery proceedings attendant to this dissolution of marriage action, the husband learned that prior to filing this action, the wife had established a trust with herself as sole income beneficiary. In its decree, the trial court divided the property between the parties and, as an incident to that division, ordered the trustee to convey $26,000 from the trust to the husband. Disputing the jurisdiction of the court to reach the corpus of the trust and to dispose of property held by a trustee not a party to the proceedings, and also asserting that the court erred in its valuation of the trust assets, the wife appeals. We affirm.
The trial court found, on supporting evidence, that both parties had been employed during the 22 years of this childless marriage, she as a school teacher and he as a glazier. Their earnings were merged in various accounts and were properly considered to be marital assets. The wife had control of the financial affairs of the parties during the marriage and gave the husband a weekly allowance of between $10 and $30.
Eleven months before filing this dissolution action, the wife established an irrevocable, discretionary, spendthrift trust because of what she viewed as excessive drinking by the husband and his statements indicating to her that he was financially irresponsible. She was the sole income beneficiary and her lawyer the trustee.
At the time of the hearing in this case, the trial court had before it a complete disclosure of the assets of the parties, including reports and testimony of the trustee with respect to the trust. The court gave the husband a 40% Interest in the residence of the parties; however, because the wife was allowed to reside in it, realization of his percentage interest was delayed until she sold the home or died. Apparently to achieve an equitable balance in the real estate division, the husband was given a residential lot. Of the approximate $100,000 value of the trust, he was awarded $26,000. The personal property was divided between the parties on an equitable basis. The court specifically mentioned that it was considering the differences of values of assets awarded each party as a factor in making the cash award from the wife's trust to the husband.
The findings of the trial court are not completely clear with respect to the exact date used for valuation of the trust assets, See In Re Marriage of Femmer, Colo.App., 568 P.2d 81 (1977); nevertheless, here a remand for the purpose of making more specific findings in that regard would be futile. The figures used by the court in valuing the trust are approximations, but the amount distributed to the husband would have been within the discretion of the trial court even had the total value of the trust estate varied a few thousand dollars one way or the other. Moreover, the lack of certainty as to the exact value of the trust assets is attributable to the wife. Her attorney, the trustee, submitted a statement of an accounting which omitted one page, and in his testimony at trial, he was unable to reconcile relatively minor inconsistencies in the value of the assets. Considering these factors, we conclude that any deficiency in the findings of the trial court was in no way prejudicial to the wife who is attempting to question them.
The principal issue raised by this appeal is whether the court had jurisdiction to reach the trust assets and require a conveyance of a portion of them to the husband. We hold that the court had such power and properly exercised it in this case. We hold also that, under the circumstances present here, the court had jurisdiction to order the trustee to make payments from the trust to the husband.
Section 14-10-113, C.R.S.1973, directs the court in a dissolution of marriage proceeding to "set apart to each spouse his property and (to) divide the marital property . . . in such proportions as the court deems just . . . ." The court is to consider the contribution of each spouse to acquisition of the property; the value of the property set apart to each; the economic circumstances of each; and any increases or decreases in the value of separate property. Here the...
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Marriage of Peshek, In re, 79-2476
...expectancy because, unlike an expectancy interest, the respondent's interest can be presently determined. (See, Kaladic v. Kaladic (1978), 41 Colo.App. 419, 589 P.2d 502.) Accordingly, we conclude that the parties' interest in the Barrington property can be characterized as "property." More......
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Baum, In re
...creditors a trust in which the settlor is the sole beneficiary or has the sole power to reach the trust property. Kaladic v. Kaladic, 41 Colo.App. 419, 589 P.2d 502, 505 (1978) (holding illusory and fraudulent a spendthrift trust that ex-wife attempted to create with marital assets shortly ......
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Smith v. Smith
...Codified Laws Ann. § 25-4-45.1 (1984); In re Marriage of Schultz, 105 Cal.App.3d 846, 164 Cal.Rptr. 653 (1980); In re Marriage of Kaladic, 41 Colo.App. 419, 589 P.2d 502 (1978); In re Marriage of Block, 110 Ill.App.3d 864, 870-71, 65 Ill.Dec. 769, 441 N.E.2d 1283, 1288-89 (1982); In re Marr......
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In re Cohen, 97SA211.
...would be forced to conclude that the Trust "was illusory and fraudulent" as against any creditors of Zane. See Kaladic v. Kaladic, 41 Colo.App. 419, 422, 589 P.2d 502, 505 (1978). In Kaladic, eleven months before the wife filed a dissolution of marriage action, she established an irrevocabl......