Andrew Joseph Wortkoetter v. Amy Jean Wortkoetter

971 N.E.2d 685, 2012 WL 2588536, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 321
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 5, 2012
Docket30A01-1111-DR-548
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 971 N.E.2d 685 (Andrew Joseph Wortkoetter v. Amy Jean Wortkoetter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Andrew Joseph Wortkoetter v. Amy Jean Wortkoetter, 971 N.E.2d 685, 2012 WL 2588536, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 321 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

BAILEY, Judge.

Case Summary

Andrew J. Wortkoetter (“Husband”) appeals from the denial of his motion to correct error, which disputed the trial court’s property division following the dissolution of his marriage to Amy J. Wort-koetter (“Wife”).

We affirm with instruction.

Issues

Husband raises two issues, which we restate as:

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it declined to award him his Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) exclusively and thereby deviate from the statutory presumption for an equal division of marital property; and
2. Whether the trial court’s order of payment from Husband to Wife is clearly erroneous.

Facts and Procedural History

The parties were married on July 11, 1991, and had two children. In 1990, before the marriage, Husband rolled over approximately $2,000 from the State’s Public Employees’ Retirement Fund into an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”). On March 31, 2011, the account was worth $28,007.

On April 5, 2011, Wife filed a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Based upon the parties’ agreements, the trial court entered a provisional order on May 5, 2011. In an order dated August 29, 2011, the court dissolved the marriage and established child custody and child support. A final hearing on property distribution was held on September 2, 2011, at which time Husband and Wife each testified and proffered one exhibit in support of their respective settlement positions. Regarding his IRA, Husband asked the court to “set that off aside as a non-marital asset.” (Tr. at 33.)

On September 8, 2011, the trial court entered its Order on Property Settlement, specifically finding that the IRA was part of the marital estate and dividing the marital property equally. The court prepared an asset and debt ledger to effect a proper equalization of marital assets and decreed: ‘Wife shall have a judgment for the equalization sum of $12,664.” (App. at 14.) The court also ordered Husband to pay the balance of Wife’s attorney fees in the amount of $1,400.

Proceeding pro se, Husband filed what was deemed a motion to correct error. Wife, also pro se, responded. A hearing was held on October 21, 2011, after which the trial court denied Husband’s motion. Husband now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

Standard of Review

Husband first challenges the equal division of marital property. Technically, however, he appeals from the denial of his motion to correct error. This Court reviews a trial court’s ruling on a motion to correct error under an abuse of discretion standard. Zaremba v. Nevarez, 898 N.E.2d 459, 463 (Ind.Ct.App.2008). An abuse of discretion occurs when the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court, including any reasonable inferences therefrom. Id.

*688 The motion to correct error addressed the court’s division of marital property, a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Wanner v. Hutchcroft, 888 N.E.2d 260, 263 (Ind.Ct.App.2008). A party challenging the trial court’s division of marital property must overcome a strong presumption that the court considered and complied with the applicable statute. Id. Even if the facts and reasonable inferences permit a conclusion different from that reached by the trial court, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court unless its decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. Perkins v. Harding, 836 N.E.2d 295, 299 (Ind.Ct.App.2005). We consider only the evidence favorable to the judgment and we do not reweigh the evidence or reassess witness credibility. Id. In addition, we will not set aside the findings or judgment unless clearly erroneous. Elkins v. Elkins, 763 N.E.2d 482, 484 (Ind.Ct.App.2002).

Issue One: Property Division

On appeal, Husband concedes that all property, including his IRA, is part of the marital estate, but he disputes the court’s decision to equally divide that estate. Indiana Code § 31-15-7-5, which governs the division of martial property, provides in relevant part:

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 an equal 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:
(A) before the marriage; or
(B) through inheritance or gift.
*****
(4) The conduct of the parties during the marriage as related to the disposition or dissipation of their property....

Here, Husband insists that he rebutted the statutory presumption for equal division of marital property. He points out that the IRA was owned by him individually before the marriage, was acquired without any assistance from Wife, was never commingled with other marital property, and was never treated as marital property by the parties. Even the ten dollar annual maintenance fee was deducted from the account itself rather than being paid with marital funds. Thus, he argues, his IRA should have been allocated exclusively to him, with the remaining property equally divided between the parties.

Husband cites to Maxwell v. Maxwell, 850 N.E.2d 969 (Ind.Ct.App.2006), trans. denied, where the dissolution court effected an unequal division of marital assets by awarding the husband stock and an IRA inherited by him after he had moved out of the marital residence. Thus, the husband was in possession of the inheritance for only a few months of the parties’ marriage that lasted over thirty years. We held that the court did not abuse its discretion when it “set aside” the stock and IRA exclusively to the husband. Id. at 974. Husband also relies upon Castaneda v. Castaneda, 615 N.E.2d 467 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), where this Court concluded that the dissolution court did not abuse its discretion when it allocated to the wife all of an inheritance that she acquired during the course of her marriage. In Castaneda,

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971 N.E.2d 685, 2012 WL 2588536, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 321, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andrew-joseph-wortkoetter-v-amy-jean-wortkoetter-indctapp-2012.