In Re Marriage of Blunda

702 N.E.2d 993, 299 Ill. App. 3d 855, 234 Ill. Dec. 339, 1998 Ill. App. LEXIS 748
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 2, 1998
Docket2-97-1227
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 702 N.E.2d 993 (In Re Marriage of Blunda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Marriage of Blunda, 702 N.E.2d 993, 299 Ill. App. 3d 855, 234 Ill. Dec. 339, 1998 Ill. App. LEXIS 748 (Ill. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

JUSTICE THOMAS

delivered the opinion of the court:

The petitioner, Sandra A. Blunda, appeals from the judgment of dissolution of her marriage to the respondent, Frank S. Blunda, challenging the trial court’s distribution of marital assets along with its findings that the petitioner dissipated marital assets and that her execution of a personal guarantee transmuted a portion of a nonmarital business into marital property. The respondent cross-appeals.

A substantial amount of evidence and testimony was presented in the trial court. However, only those facts necessary to an understanding of this court’s decision will be set forth, and many of the relevant facts will be discussed in the analysis of the issues to which they are pertinent.

The record shows that the parties were married on August 26, 1966, and the marriage was dissolved on December 13, 1996. Two children were born during the course of the marriage, and they were both emancipated and over the age of 18 at the time of trial. Both parties were 54 years of age and in good health at the time of dissolution. Frank was employed by AT&T and earned approximately $63,000 per year. Sandra was employed by Universal Heating Supplies, Inc. (Universal Heating), and earned approximately $75,000 per year.

In March 1992, Sandra received 4,200 shares of Universal Heating stock from her father, Dean Ciampi, who had been the sole shareholder in the company. At the same time, Dean Ciampi gifted 4,200 shares each to Sandra’s brothers, William Ciampi and Richard Ciampi. Dean Ciampi retained 1,400 shares. In April 1992, the family decided that Universal Heating should purchase William Ciampi’s 4,200 shares. To accomplish this, Universal Heating borrowed $140,000 from West Suburban Bank. The commercial promissory note executed in connection with the transaction identified the borrower as Universal Heating. The document was signed by Dean Ciampi, president, and Sandra. Sandra also signed in her capacity as treasurer a check drawn on the account of Universal Heating for $148,547 made payable to William Ciampi. In exchange for this check, William surrendered his 4,200 shares of stock to the corporation. The stock was then retired. On the same date that the commercial promissory note was signed, Sandra executed a “Commercial Continuing Guarantee” as part of the loan transaction. Prior to his death in July 1992, Dean Ciampi retired his 1,400 shares of stock to the corporation. The $140,000 loan taken out by Universal Heating with the West Suburban Bank was repaid by the company.

The trial court classified and distributed the parties’ property as follows:

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In addition to the above-mentioned distribution of property, the trial court ordered the following:

“K. Sandra shall reimburse Frank the sum of $87,450.66, equaling one-half of the amount of $174,901.32. This last amount represents the extension of marital credit via Sandra’s personal guarantee to obtain loans on behalf of Universal Heating Supplies, Inc. This reimbursement is covered by and provided for in paragraph L. below.
L. *** In order to effectuate the final division of property herein, Sandra shall pay to Frank the sum of $100,000.00 within 45 days of the entry of this judgment.”

On appeal, Sandra first argues that the trial court erred in ordering her to reimburse Frank $87,450.66 and in essence finding that a portion of her nonmarital business became marital property. She argues that the court erred in awarding one-half of that portion to Frank. She maintains that the mere incurring of personal liability on the guarantee was not sufficient to transmute the property into marital property. In response, Frank argues that the trial court properly found a portion of the stock to be marital property. He maintains that the practical effect of the purchase of William’s shares was to increase Sandra’s ownership in the company by over 12%. He claims that Sandra placed marital assets at risk to accomplish the purchase; therefore, he continues, the trial court correctly reasoned that Sandra’s increased interest in the company should be valued at the loan amount and classified as marital.

All the property of the parties to a marriage belongs to one of three estates, the estate of the husband, the estate of the wife, or the marital estate. In re Marriage of Werries, 247 Ill. App. 3d 639, 641-42 (1993). In order to distribute property upon dissolution of marriage, a trial court must first classify that property as either marital or non-marital. In re Marriage of Hegge, 285 Ill. App. 3d 138, 140 (1996). A trial court’s classification of property will not be disturbed unless it is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. In re Marriage of Perlmutter, 225 Ill. App. 3d 362, 365 (1992).

Section 503 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the Act) (750 ILCS 5/503 (West 1996)) governs the determination of whether property is to be classified as marital or nonmarital. Section 503(a) of the Act provides in part:

“ ‘[Mjarital property’ means all property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage, except the following, which is known as ‘non-marital property’:
(1) property acquired by gift, legacy or descent;
(2) property acquired in exchange for property acquired before the marriage or in exchange for property acquired by gift, legacy or descent;
(3) property acquired by a spouse after a judgment of legal separation;
(4) property excluded by valid agreement of the parties;
(5) any judgment or property obtained by judgment awarded to the spouse from the other spouse;
(6) property acquired before the marriage;
(7) the increase in value of property acquired by a method listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this subsection, irrespective of whether the increase results from a contribution of marital property, non-marital property, the personal effort of a spouse, or otherwise, subject to the right of reimbursement provided in subsection (c) of this Section; and
(8) income from property acquired by a method listed in paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection if the income is not attributable to the personal effort of a spouse.” 750 ILCS 5/503(a) (West 1996) (eff. June 1, 1997).

Property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be marital property unless it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the property falls within one of the statutory exceptions listed in subsection (a). 750 ILCS 5/503(b) (West 1996); Hegge, 285 Ill. App. 3d at 141.

Section 503(c)(2) of the Act provides:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
702 N.E.2d 993, 299 Ill. App. 3d 855, 234 Ill. Dec. 339, 1998 Ill. App. LEXIS 748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-blunda-illappct-1998.