Hurst v. Hurst

553 S.W.3d 853
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 29, 2018
DocketNo. ED 105564
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 553 S.W.3d 853 (Hurst v. Hurst) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hurst v. Hurst, 553 S.W.3d 853 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

ROY L. RICHTER, Judge

Staci Hurst ("Mother") appeals from the trial court's judgment of dissolution ordering Thomas Hurst ("Father") to pay Mother child support of $341 per month for the parties' three children. We reverse and remand.

I. Background

Mother and Father were married on October 5, 1996. Three children were born of the marriage: their oldest daughter, born May 14, 1998; their son, born June 22, 1999; and their youngest daughter, born June 8, 2003. On September 18, 2015, Father filed a petition for dissolution of the marriage. On September 28, 2015, Mother filed an answer and counter-petition. On July 21, 2016, Mother filed an amended counter-petition to add Father's father, Franklin Hurst ("Franklin"), as a third party respondent.

The two day trial began on November 17, 2016. Because the parties did not have an agreed upon parenting plan or any agreement concerning the distribution of marital property and debts, the trial court addressed child custody, child support, and the valuation of the parties' marital and nonmarital property.

A. Child Custody

The parties agreed that joint legal custody was appropriate. However, the parties disagreed on physical custody. Father proposed alternating weeks of physical custody for all three children. Mother proposed that Father have sole physical custody of their son, with Mother having visitation, and Mother having sole physical custody of their younger daughter, with Father having visitation. Mother further proposed that neither party have physical custody or visitation of their older daughter who had graduated from high school and was in college.

B. Child Support

The week before the trial, Mother's counsel emailed Father's counsel regarding a stipulation of Father's gross income. Mother's counsel expressly stated that her plan was "to stipulate to [Father's] gross income of $17,742" so that she could cancel a scheduled deposition with a tax expert for purposes of reviewing Father's tax returns and determining Father's income based upon Civil Procedure Form 14 (" Form 14") standards. Father's counsel replied, "So, are you letting [the tax expert] know or are you relying upon me [to cancel the deposition]?" Mother's counsel responded, "Cancel it. We'll stipulate to [Father's] income per his amended statement."

At trial, Father presented evidence of the parties' 2013, 2014, and 2015 joint income tax returns containing his income related to his employment with the State of Missouri, auctioneer business, accounting business, and cattle business. Father further offered his Form 14 calculation claiming a monthly gross income of $10,958, which was accompanied with a sheet demonstrating his calculation to the court.

*856During Mother's testimony addressing Father's income for purposes of child support, Mother testified that the parties stipulated that Father's monthly gross income was $17,742. Noting a discrepancy in this alleged stipulation and Father's monthly income represented in his previously admitted evidence, the trial court asked, "is there a stipulation that [Father's] monthly income is $17,742?" Father's counsel replied, "That's what's on the income and expense statement, but my analysis was going through some expenses ... because that asks for your gross monthly income. There was an agreement that's the gross monthly income." Mother's counsel again asked whether Father's monthly gross income was stipulated to be the $17,742 reported on Father' income and expense statement. Father's counsel clarified that the $17,742 only represented Father's gross income without respect to business expenses that had yet to be subtracted.

C. Division of Marital Property

The parties' marital home, including a lake and barn, was built on a parcel of land owned by Franklin. There was conflicting expert testimony regarding the marital home's value: Father's expert appraised the home at $396,000 assuming 12 acres would be sold, and Mother's expert appraised the home at $510,000 assuming 15 acres would be sold. Both experts testified that if the parties did not own the land in fee simple, the property value would be negatively impacted. Father's expert specifically testified that if the parties did not own the property in fee simple, it was possible that the marital home would have zero market value. Franklin owned approximately 460 acres on which the marital home was built, but affirmed at trial that he thought the 460 acres would go to Father after his death-including the parcel of land on which the marital home was built. Father testified that when he discussed building a new house on the land, Franklin told him to "do whatever you want."

Regarding the value of household goods, Mother's valuation of her household possessions was $10,000, and Father valued her household possessions at $20,000. In support of Father's valuation of household goods in Mother's possession, Father testified that Mother had removed patio furniture, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and cabinets prior to moving out of the marital home. Photographs of Mother's current home were also considered in determining the value of Mother's household goods.

D. Judgment

The trial court entered judgment dissolving the parties' marriage and found that joint legal and physical custody with a split custody arrangement was in the best interests of the children. Rejecting both parties' Form 14 calculations, the court ordered Father to pay Mother $341 in presumptive child support1 based on a finding that Father's monthly income was $6,674. The court valued the parties' marital home at $300,000 and awarded the property to Father. The court valued the household goods in Mother's possession at $20,000. Mother filed a motion to amend the judgment or for new trial, which was denied. This appeal follows.

II. Discussion

Mother alleges three points on appeal. First, she argues the trial court erred in calculating the presumptive child support amount because the court's computation of *857Father's gross monthly income based on Father's Form 14 was against the weight of the evidence in that Father stipulated his gross income was $17,742 rather than $6,674 as found by the court.

Second, Mother claims the trial court erred by valuing the marital home at $300,000 because that valuation was against the weight of the evidence in that both parties' experts appraised the home at more than $300,000, the home was insured for $400,000, and no evidence was presented regarding potential transactional costs in retitling or selling the property.

Third, Mother contends the trial court erred in valuing her household possessions at $20,000 because the valuation was against the weight of the evidence in that Mother valued her possessions at $10,000 and the personal property was the former owner's property and included in the purchase price of the home.

A. Standard of Review

When reviewing the trial court's judgment in a dissolution proceeding, we must affirm the judgment unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. Cureau v. Cureau

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Bluebook (online)
553 S.W.3d 853, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hurst-v-hurst-moctapp-2018.