Weilmunster v. Weilmunster
| Decision Date | 04 January 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 19145,19145 |
| Parties | Donald K. WEILMUNSTER, Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross Respondent, v. Lana Hale WEILMUNSTER, Defendant-Respondent-Cross Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Court of Appeals |
Givens, Pursley, Webb & Huntley, Boise, for plaintiff-appellant-cross respondent. Robert Huntley, Jr., argued, Boise.
Bruce L. Thomas, Boise, for defendant-respondent-cross appellant.
SUBSTITUTE OPINION
The Court's prior opinion, dated July 30, 1992, is hereby withdrawn.
This appeal concerns the classification and distribution of the parties' property upon divorce. Donald and Lana Weilmunster sued each other for a divorce and a decree classifying and distributing their separate and community assets. During the marriage, Donald commingled his separate funds with the funds of the community. At trial, Donald sought to prove by indirect tracing, or accounting, that many of the assets purchased with the commingled funds were proceeds of his separate funds, and, thus, his separate property. After trial, the magistrate awarded Lana a divorce against Donald. In classifying the parties' property, the magistrate determined that Donald had satisfactorily traced many of the commingled assets to his separate property, and, therefore, the magistrate attributed those assets to Donald's separate estate. The magistrate also concluded that the community's expenses during the marriage exceeded its income, leaving no community interest in the commingled funds. Lana appealed to the district court, claiming that the magistrate had wrongfully characterized much of the parties' property as Donald's separate property rather than as part of the community estate, which characterization not only led the magistrate to improperly award much of the community's property to Donald, but also to the erroneous conclusion that the community had no interest in the account's residual funds.
The district court substantially reversed the magistrate, holding that the magistrate erred in permitting Donald to prove his separate property by the use of accounting evidence when direct tracing of the parties' property was objectively possible, and in classifying much of the property as Donald's separate property rather than as community property. Donald now appeals to this court, and Lana cross-appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the district court in part and reinstate the findings and conclusions of the magistrate.
Prior to and at the time of their marriage, both Lana and Donald had substantial On June 12, 1981, Lana and Donald entered into an antenuptial agreement which, among other things, defined the parties' separate and community property. The design and intent of the antenuptial agreement was to protect and preserve the separate estates of the parties during the marriage. On June 16, 1981, Lana and Donald were married. During the marriage, Donald commingled proceeds and income from his separate property in the same accounts which contained the parties' community assets.
[124 Idaho 230] separate estates. Donald's premarital estate included four ranches; some mining claims; equipment used to run his various ranching, farming, and logging operations; a cattle herd of about 500 head plus calves; contracts receivable from the sale of real properties; and a bank account containing $25,000. The debts pertaining to Donald's premarital estate included contracts payable on real estate purchased for Donald's farming and ranching operations; various other loan obligations; and $60,000 in personal debt to a Mr. Blackeby. Lana's premarital estate included a number of rental properties, a one-sixth interest in a farm in Arizona, and a contract receivable on some real estate. The total debt Lana owed on these properties was approximately $130,000. At the time of the marriage, Lana had no money in any accounts.
Throughout the marriage, Donald received interest income from his contracts receivable in the amount of $182,329. Donald used this separate income to pay interest charges on his various separate debts.
As mentioned above, Donald owned a cattle herd prior to the marriage. Both parties have characterized the calves which were born into the herd during the marriage as community property. During the marriage the parties did not distinguish between those cattle which were Donald's separate cattle, and those cattle which, being born into the herd during the marriage, were the community's. All of the cattle, both separate and community, were pastured on Donald's separate ranches throughout the marriage.
Also during the marriage, an interest in a W & W Land Partnership was purchased with funds from the commingled account.
On September 6, 1985, after approximately four years of marriage, Donald filed a complaint seeking a divorce against Lana on grounds of irreconcilable differences. Lana subsequently filed a counterclaim seeking a divorce against Donald on the same grounds and on the additional ground of extreme cruelty by infliction of grievous mental suffering.
The matter was tried to a magistrate over eight days of proceedings which concluded on June 19, 1987. The magistrate received extensive evidence regarding the alleged grounds for divorce and the proper classification and distribution of the parties' property. On June 26, 1987, the magistrate entered a partial summary judgment pursuant to a stipulation of the parties, which granted the parties a divorce and restored Lana to the use of her former name, Lana D. Hale. The magistrate reserved his determination as to the classification and distribution of the parties' property until further documentation and information had been submitted by the parties.
On September 30, 1987, after the parties had submitted post-trial motions, documentation and arguments, the magistrate filed his findings of fact and conclusions of law. The magistrate concluded that during the marriage both parties sustained net operating losses with respect to their separate estates; the community spent more money than it earned; proceeds from Donald's separate property and loans made up the community shortfall; the community estate did nothing to enhance the separate estate of either party; and the community had insufficient funds in the commingled account to have been able to purchase the interest in the W & W Land Partnership. Based on these findings, the magistrate concluded that the community had no interest in the funds which remained in the commingled account, and ordered an equitable distribution of the parties' remaining assets. Subsequently, Lana moved to amend and add to the magistrate's findings and conclusions. On April 21, 1988, the On appeal to the district court, Lana contended that the magistrate erred in characterizing a number of the parties' assets as Donald's separate property, rather than attributing the assets to the community estate. She asserted that had the magistrate properly characterized these assets as community property, the magistrate would have found that the community's deposits in the account actually exceeded its expenditures. Specifically, Lana claimed that the magistrate should have credited the community estate with: (1) the interest income Donald received from his separate property during the marriage; (2) the pasturage value of Donald's separate ranches; and (3) more than 20% of the remaining cattle herd. She also claimed that had the magistrate correctly characterized these assets as community property, the magistrate would have found that the community had sufficient funds in the commingled account to purchase the disputed interest in the W & W Land Partnership.
[124 Idaho 231] magistrate filed amended and additional findings and conclusions, pursuant to which an Amended Judgment and Decree was entered on May 31, 1988.
In its memorandum decision on appeal, the district court substantially reversed the magistrate, holding: (1) that Donald should not have been allowed to use indirect tracing evidence to prove his separate property which he had commingled with community funds; (2) that the community was entitled to be credited with the amount of Donald's separate interest income which he used to pay the interest on his separate debts; (3) that the community should not have been charged with the cost of using Donald's separate property pastures to maintain the community's cattle during the marriage; and (4) that, on remand, the magistrate should reclassify the parties' assets pursuant to its holding, and reevaluate whether the community had sufficient funds in the commingled account to have been able to purchase the interest in the W & W Land Partnership. The district court affirmed the magistrate's finding that the community had a 20% interest in the remaining cattle herd. Donald has appealed, and Lana has cross-appealed, from the district court's decision.
Donald raises the following issues on appeal:
1. Whether the magistrate correctly exercised his discretion in admitting and applying the accounting, or indirect tracing, evidence presented by Donald to prove his separate property from the parties' commingled assets.
2. Whether the magistrate correctly determined that, under the terms of the antenuptial agreement, the community was not entitled to be credited with the amount of Donald's interest income which he used to pay the interest on his separate debts during the marriage.
3. Whether the magistrate correctly concluded that the community should be charged with the cost of using Donald's separate property pastures to maintain the community's portion of the cattle herd.
4. Whether the magistrate correctly decided that the community lacked sufficient funds to have been able to invest in the W & W Land Partnership, and therefore that the investment was Donald's separate property.
In her cross-appeal, Lana...
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...law governs. Property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be community in character under Idaho law. Weilmunster v. Weilmunster, 124 Idaho 227, 232, 858 P.2d 766 (Ct.App.1993) (Idaho legal doctrine) (citing Stahl v. Stahl, 91 Idaho 794, 797-98, 430 P.2d 685 (1967)); In re Marriage of ......
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