Hatten v. Hatten

825 N.E.2d 791, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 641, 2005 WL 905977
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 20, 2005
Docket09A02-0404-CV-314
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 825 N.E.2d 791 (Hatten v. Hatten) 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
Hatten v. Hatten, 825 N.E.2d 791, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 641, 2005 WL 905977 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

OPINION

ROBB, Judge.

The marriage of Adeline Margaret Hat-ten ("Wife") and Emerson Richard Hatten ("Husband") was dissolved by the trial court and the parties' assets were divided. The trial court awarded to Husband the entirety of a Merrill Lynch account funded with money Husband inherited from his mother. Wife now appeals. We reverse and remand.

Issue

Wife presents one issue for our review, which we restate as whether the trial court properly awarded the Merrill Lynch account to Husband.

Facts and Proéechwdl History

Husband and Wife were married in 1964. Husband and Wife had each lost a spouse prior to marrying each other. Husband had four children from his prior marriage and Wife had two children from her prior marriage; Husband and Wife did not have any children as a result of their marriage to each other. Husband worked for the railroad prior to and during the marriage. Wife worked prior to the marriage, but following the marriage, she stayed home to maintain the household and tend to the parties' children. She used an inheritance of money and property from her late husband primarily to pay for her children to attend college and also to buy Husband a car that he later handed down to one of his children, and for various household expenses.

In 1988, Husband received an inheritance of approximately $55,000 when his mother passed away, which was used to fund a Merrill Lynch account. Initially, the account was in Husband's name only, but Wife's name was later added to the account, as well. The account was used to pay marital expenses such as home improvements, an automobile, and travel and living expenses.

Wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in January of 2008. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order dissolving the marriage and dividing the marital property. In pertinent part, the court's order reads as follows:

4. That although the Wife did not work outside the home during the marriage the Husband has stipulated that the Wife's non-income producing contributions to the marriage were just as important as the Husband's income-producing contribution to the marriage.
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12. That in 1988 the Husband inherited the sum of approximately $55,000 in a Merrill Lynch account from the estate of his mother, Mary B. Hatten. Some of those funds have remained in a Merrill Lynch account since the time of the inheritance. At some point subsequent to the inheritance the [793]*793[HJusband added the [Wiife's name to the account. Those funds have been expended during the marriage for the mutual benefit of the parties, leaving a remaining balance as of December 31, 2002 in the amount of $31,983.31. The wife testified that she had not contributed any of her personal funds to that account.
13. That in 1982 the [HJjusband received a $20,000 severance payment from the railroad which was expended during the marriage for the mutual benefit of the parties.
14. - That the Wife testified that she had received an inheritance [from] her deceased husband, Pat Perrone, and that those funds were primarily used to pay for the college education of the [WJife's children from her prior marriage, namely: John Perrone and Patty Perrone.
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II. THE COURT, HAVING MADE THE ABOVE FINDINGS OF FACT, NOW MAKES THE - FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS OF LAW:
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2. That there was not sufficient evidence introduced to suggest that either party dissipated assets during the marriage.
3. That all of the assets of the parties . are considered by this Court as being part of the marital pot subject to division pursuant to 1.C. 31-15-7-5.
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8. That the proceeds of the Merrill Lynch account are directly traceable to the [Hjusband's inheritance from his mother in 1988. The Court concludes that the Husband has presented substantial relevant evidence justifying a deviation from an equal division of the property with respect to the Merrill Lynch account only pursuant to I.C. 31-15-7-5 in one or more of the following respects:
(a) The Merrill Lynch account was acquired through inheritance from the [HJusband's mother.
(b) The Merrill Lynch account has remained a separate and distinct account throughout the marriage, even though the Husband later added the Wife's name to the account.
(e) That the Wife made no separate contribution to the Merrill Lynch account during the marriage.
(d) That the Husband and Wife have each had the mutual benefit of approximately $23,000 of expenditures from the Merrill Lynch account during the marriage.
(e) That the Wife made a disposition of inherited funds from her deceased husband, Pat Perrone, in using those funds primarily to pay for the college education of the [WJife's children by a prior marriage.
(£) That the Wife has enjoyed a benefit relating to the liquidation of the Prudential accounts which were owned by the Husband prior to the marriage and which presumably had some cash value prior to the marriage, although further premium payments on those policies were made during the marriage.
(g) That the Husband's severance pay of $20,000, which was at least partially attributable to his years of railroad service prior to the marriage, has already been expended for the mutual benefit of the parties.
The Court concludes that this situation is at least as favorable to the person claiming the inherited funds as the circumstances confronting the trial court in [794]*794Keller v. Keller, 639 N.E.2d 372 (Ind.Ct.App.1994) which confirmed the propriety of setting over the inherited funds to one of the parties, even despite extensive commingling. See also the Castaneda and Shumaker decisions cited in Keller.

Appendix to Brief of Appellant at 7-12. Wife now appeals the trial court's distribution of the Merrill Lynch account to Husband.

Discussion and Decision

I. Standard of Review

The disposition of marital assets is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Bizik v. Bizik, 753 N.E.2d 762, 766 (Ind.Ct.App.2001), trams. denied. "When a party challenges the trial court's division of marital property, he must overcome a strong presumption that the court considered and complied with the applicable statute, and that presumption is one of the strongest presumptions applicable to our consideration on appeal." In re Marriage of Bartley, 712 N.E.2d 537, 542 (Ind.Ct.App.1999).

When we review a claim that the trial court improperly divided marital property, we must decide whether the trial court's decision constitutes an abuse of discretion, considering only the evidence most favorable to the trial court's disposition of the property, without reweighing the evidence or assessing the credibility of witnesses. Bizik, 753 N.E.2d at 766.

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Hatten v. Hatten
825 N.E.2d 791 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
825 N.E.2d 791, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 641, 2005 WL 905977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hatten-v-hatten-indctapp-2005.