Gaskell v. Gaskell

900 N.E.2d 13, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 109, 2009 WL 153192
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 23, 2009
Docket79A02-0805-CV-409
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 900 N.E.2d 13 (Gaskell v. Gaskell) 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
Gaskell v. Gaskell, 900 N.E.2d 13, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 109, 2009 WL 153192 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Case Summary

David R. Gaskell ("Husband") appeals the trial court's division of property upon the dissolution of his marriage to Jane M. Gaskell ("Wife"). Wife cross-appeals. We affirm.

Issues

Husband raises five issues, which we consolidate and restate as follows:

I. Did the trial court err by enfore-img the terms of a post- nuptial document signed by Husband?
II. Did the trial court err by awarding the LaGrange Street property to Wife?
III. Did the trial court err by failing to include in the marital estate the sum of $85,000 retained by Wife from the sale proceeds of Husband and Wife's prior residence?
IV. Did the trial court err by ordering an unequal division of the marital estate?

In her cross-appeal, Wife raises one issue, which we restate as whether the trial court erred by including social security payments received by Wife as an offset against Husband's delinquent maintenance obligation.

Facts and Procedural History

On July 11, 1964, Husband and Wife were married. At the time of the dissolution hearing, they had three adult children. Husband was, at age 67, a full-time professor of materials engineering at Purdue University,. He earned a salary of $118,000 per year, and he received textbook royalties of between $5,000 and $15,000 per year. Wife, age 65, worked as a teacher early in the couple's marriage, but she stopped teaching in 1969, prior to the birth of their first child. At the time of the hearing, Wife's income consisted of $959 per month in social security retirement benefits.

The parties have lived apart since June or July of 2000. Around that time, Wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in the Tippecanoe Superior Court, cause number 79D02-0006-DR-188. On June 26, 2000, the trial court approved and entered an agreed provisional order prepared by Husband and Wife. The order provided, among other things, that Wife was to have exclusive possession of the marital residence, which at that time was 629 Ridgewood in West Lafayette, and that Husband was to pay maintenance of $2,000 per month. While that dissolution proceeding was pending, Husband and Wife sold the Ridgewood property and purchased the residence at 454 LaGrange Street in West Lafayette. The net proceeds from the sale of the Ridgewood property were approximately $85,000. Wife used approximately $10,000 for home improvements and deposited approximately $75,000 into a bank account ("the Account"). When the couple purchased the [16]*16LaGrange Street residence, they arranged to have the property deeded with a 99% interest to Wife and 1% to Husband.

On October 1, 2001, Husband executed a written agreement (the "Agreement"), which provided as follows:

I, David Gaskell will,
1. pay the sum of $2000 to Jane M. Gaskell every month on the first day of the month,
2. pay half of the local property tax on the property at 454 La Grange St. West Lafayette and
3. pay the Petsburgh bill for the pets Maggie the dog and Penny the cat.

Appellee's Exhibits, Final Hearing, Exhibit 10. Eight days later, on October 9, 2001, the parties tiled a stipulation for continuance without date. On May 22, 2002, the trial court entered an order stating as follows: "Parties, by counsel report reconciliation. It is ordered that this case be and it is hereby dismissed for want of prosecution." Appellant's App. at 47.

For a few months, Husband made the payments contemplated in the Agreement, but in December 2001, Husband stopped paying Wife and told her to instead withdraw $2,000 from the Account each month. Wife made withdrawals from the Account until December 2005, when there was no money left. Wife then borrowed money from her sister. In the spring of 2006, Husband and Wife discussed Wife's financial cireumstances, and Husband agreed to resume the monthly payments. When Husband failed to send her a check in July 2006, Wife again filed for dissolution.

In its dissolution order of January 25, 2008, the trial court determined that the Agreement of October 1, 2001, is a "separation agreement{[.]" Appellant's App. at 34. The trial court ordered the obligations within the Agreement to remain in effect until the date of dissolution. Id. The court also ordered the following:

Within 60 days the Husband shall pay to the Wife as delinquent maintenance the sum of $30,043.30, calculated as follows:
Maintenance owing at $2,000.00 per
month for 76 months $152,000.00
Less:
Half net proceeds of Ridgewood sale $ 42,500.00 Maintenance paid at 12 x $1200.00 14,400.00
Cash paid 5/80/06 6,000.00 Cash paid 5/30/06 5,000.00 Cash paid 10/1/06 1,000.00 1% of value of LaGrange 1,750.00
Payment for repairs to LaGrange 2,000.00 Half the PEFCU Account 6,406.70 Maintenance paid in 2001-02 6,000.00
Purchase of vehicles 36,000.00 ($121,056.70) $ 30,943.30

Id. at 87.

On February 25, 2008, Husband filed a motion to correct error and/or motion for relief from judgment. On April 3, 2008, the trial court issued an order granting in part and denying in part Husband's motion. Recognizing social security payments received by Wife, the trial court added $3,836.00 to the credits against Husband's delinquent maintenance, reducing the total he owed Wife to $27,107.30. Husband now appeals, and Wife cross-appeals.

Discussion and Decision

I. Enforcement of Agreement

Husband argues that the trial court erred by enforcing the terms of the Agreement. Our standard of review is well settled.

When a trial court issues findings and conclusions undér [Indiana Trial Rule] 52, we review the same under the following two-tiered standard of review: we first must determine whether the evidence supports the findings; then we determine whether the findings support the judgment. We will neither reweigh the evidence nor reassess the credibility of the witnesses and will not set aside [17]*17the fact-finding of the trial court unless it is clearly erroneous. A judgment is clearly erroneous where a review of the record leaves us with a firm conviction that a mistake has been made.

Flansburg v. Flansburg, 581 N.E.2d 430, 435 (Ind.Ct.App.1991) (citations omitted), trans. denied (1992).

Indiana Code Section 31-15-2-17 governs post-nuptial agreements:

(a) To promote the amicable settlements of disputes that have arisen or may arise between the parties to a marriage attendant upon the dissolution of their marriage, the parties may agree in writing to provisions for:
(1) The maintenance of either of the parties;
(2) The disposition of any property owned by either or both of the parties; and
(3) The custody and support of the children of the parties.
(b) In an action for dissolution of marriage,

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Gaskell v. Gaskell
900 N.E.2d 13 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
900 N.E.2d 13, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 109, 2009 WL 153192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gaskell-v-gaskell-indctapp-2009.