Marriage of Snemis, In re, No. 56A03-8910-CV-432

• Docket Nº: No. 56A03-8910-CV-432
• Citation: 575 N.E.2d 650
• Case Date: July 25, 1991
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

Page 650

575 N.E.2d 650 In re the MARRIAGE OF Thomas A. SNEMIS, Appellant-Petitioner,
and
Anna M. Snemis, Appellee-Respondent. No. 56A03-8910-CV-432. ¹ Court of Appeals of Indiana,
Fifth District. July 25, 1991.

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Fred M. Cuppy, Kathryn D. Schmidt, Burke, Murphy Costanza & Cuppy, Merrillville, for appellant-petitioner.

Mark Warren Coleman, Law Offices, Charles G. Nightingale, Valparaiso, for appellee-respondent.

RUCKER, Judge.

This appeal arises out of a final decree, dissolving the marriage of Thomas A. Snemis (Husband) and Anna M. Snemis (Wife). Husband appeals the decision of the trial court regarding the property distribution, and Wife cross-appeals on the failure of the trial court to award maintenance.

Husband presents two issues for our review which we consolidate and rephrase as follows:

Whether the trial court's distribution of the marital property was contrary to law.

Wife presents one issue in her cross-appeal:

Whether the trial court erred in failing to provide spousal maintenance.

We affirm in part and remand with instructions.

The facts most favorable to the judgment reveal that the parties were married on July 22, 1978. Except for a brief period of employment in a business operated by the parties, Wife was not employed during the marriage. Husband preferred that Wife not work, consequently Wife contributed

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to the marriage as a homemaker and by working on the remodeling of the family home. She did not bring any substantial assets into the marriage.

Since 1980, Husband has been a 51% owner of a family construction business from which he earns a salary of $26,000.00 to $30,000.00 a year. Both before and during the marriage, Husband acquired several assets in the form of realty, primarily as gifts from his father.

At the time of the dissolution, Wife was 55 years of age. During the marriage she suffered a back injury which, after surgery, left her 5% to 10% disabled.

In its findings and judgment of June 14, 1989, the trial court divided the marital property awarding 75% to Wife and 25% to Husband. ²

Additional facts will be discussed below as necessary.

I.

Husband first emphasizes that the trial court entered findings of fact with its judgment and since he does not contest the findings, we must accept them as true and not consider the evidence of record. Husband concludes that our review is therefore limited to a determination of whether the findings support the judgment. City of Evansville v. Old State Utility (1990), Ind.App., 550 N.E.2d 1339.

Husband goes on to argue that, since the court's findings only support an unequal division favoring him, we are therefore bound to reverse the judgment as contrary to law. Husband asserts that if the law is correctly applied to the court's findings, a property distribution is mandated in which he receives more than 50% of the marital assets.

Husband's argument rests on the incorrect premise that the trial court entered "special findings" of fact with conclusions of law. Upon written request by a party prior to the admission of evidence, a court must make special findings which contain all of the facts necessary for recovery by a party in whose favor conclusions of law are found. Dahnke v. Dahnke (1989), Ind.App., 535 N.E.2d 172, reh. denied. Their purpose is to serve as a theory of the judgment. Willett v. Clark (1989), Ind.App., 542 N.E.2d 1354. Special findings are adequate only if sufficient to support a valid legal basis for the judgment. Dahnke, supra.

In the case before us there was no request for special findings. Rather, the court entered findings with the judgment sua sponte. When a trial court makes specific findings on its own motion, the general judgment will control as to the issues upon which the court has not found and the specific findings control only as to the issues they cover. United Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Blanton (1983), Ind.App., 457 N.E.2d 609. We may not reverse the trial court's findings in such circumstances unless they are clearly erroneous. Ind.Trial Rule 52(A). However, the general judgment will be affirmed if it can be sustained upon any legal theory by the evidence introduced at trial. United Farm Bureau, supra.

In short, we are bound by the trial court's findings in this case only as to the matters to which they refer. Contrary to Husband's contentions, our deferential standard of review is otherwise unaffected by the trial court's entry of findings. The trial court's failure to support its judgment with complete findings does not mandate reversal as is required when findings have been requested. Dahnke, supra. We are constrained in this case to look to the evidence of record to determine if the result is against the facts and circumstances before the court. Euler v. Euler, (1989) Ind.App., 537 N.E.2d 554.

II.

Husband next contends that the 75/25 division of marital property favoring Wife

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constitutes an abuse of discretion as a matter of law. We disagree.

The trial court's division of the marital property is governed by Ind.Code Sec. 31-1-11.5-11(c), which provides in pertinent part:

(c) The court shall presume that an equal division of the marital property between the parties is just and reasonable. However, this presumption may be rebutted by a party who presents relevant evidence, including evidence concerning the following factors, that such an unequal division would not be just and reasonable:

(1) The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the property, regardless of whether the contribution was income producing.

(2) The extent to which the property was acquired by each spouse prior to the marriage or through inheritance or gift.

(3) The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the distribution of the property is to become effective ...

(4) The conduct of the parties during the marriage as related to the disposition or dissipation of their property.

Subject to the statutory presumption that an even distribution of marital property is just and reasonable, the disposition of marital assets is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. We may not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. Rather, we consider only the evidence most favorable to the trial court's disposition. Furthermore, the trial court's disposition is considered as a whole, not item by item. We will reverse only where the trial court's decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court. Euler v. Euler; Crowe v. Crowe (1990), Ind.App., 555 N.E.2d 180.

Husband's contention that he was entitled to receive more than...