In Re Marriage of Stufflebeam

671 N.E.2d 55, 283 Ill. App. 3d 923, 219 Ill. Dec. 390, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 712
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 23, 1996
Docket3-96-0112
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 671 N.E.2d 55 (In Re Marriage of Stufflebeam) 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 Stufflebeam, 671 N.E.2d 55, 283 Ill. App. 3d 923, 219 Ill. Dec. 390, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 712 (Ill. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

JUSTICE McCUSKEY

delivered the opinion of the court:

The petitioner, Phyllis Stufflebeam, n/k/a Phyllis Cole (wife), appeals from a judgment of dissolution of marriage entered January 3, 1996. The judgment distributed the property owned by the wife and the respondent, Ray Stufflebeam (husband).

On appeal, the wife argues that the trial court: (1) erred in vacating a judgment inadvertently entered on September 21, 1995; (2) abused its discretion in determining the parties’ marital property; (3) abused its discretion in distributing the parties’ marital property; (4) abused its discretion in determining marital debts; and (5) abused its discretion when it did not order the husband to pay all of the wife’s attorney fees.

After carefully reviewing the record, we first conclude that the September 21, 1995, judgment was properly vacated pursuant to section 2—1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2—1401 (West 1994)). We also conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in classifying and distributing the parties’ assets and debts or in ordering the husband to pay one-half of the wife’s attorney fees. As a result, we affirm.

FACTS

On January 11, 1988, the husband and wife entered into a prenuptial agreement. The agreement listed the property owned at that time by both the husband and the wife. The list of the husband’s property was titled "exhibit A” and included a "house & 61 acres.” The value of this property was listed at $80,000 and a liability against the property was listed at $20,000. The agreement stated:

"6. That after such marriage all of the property of any kind or nature, real, personal or mixed, wheresoever situated, belonging to the husband, and identified on the attached 'Exhibit A,’ before the marriage and any increase thereof, or any property acquired by him after such marriage, shall be and remain forever his own separate property and estate.” (Emphasis added.)

The parties were married on January 17, 1988. On February 21, 1990, the husband and wife signed a document entitled "mutual acknowledgement concerning prenuptial agreement.” This document stated that the wife used $12,500 of her own funds to discharge a portion of the debt on the husband’s house. Accordingly, the parties agreed that, in the event of a dissolution of marriage, the husband would reimburse the wife the sum of $12,500, without interest.

The parties separated in May 1993, and the wife filed her petition for dissolution of marriage on November 19, 1993. On May 11, 1995, the trial court entered a judgment finding grounds for dissolving the marriage. The wife was authorized to resume her former name of Phyllis Cole.

On July 5, 1995, a hearing was held regarding the division of the parties’ property and attorney fees. The wife testified that she was 56 years old and worked part-time as a registered nurse. Tax returns showing her 1993 and 1994 income were admitted into evidence but have not been included in the record on appeal. However, her portion of the pretrial memorandum stated that her current gross monthly income was $1,845, or $22,140 per year.

The wife testified that she put various amounts of her own non-marital funds into the parties’ joint account during the course of the marriage. She stated that they used $4,700 of the money in the joint account to make improvements on the husband’s house. She said she also did wallpapering, painting and landscaping to improve the appearance of the home.

She stated that, during the marriage, her husband purchased a truck, farm equipment and a bull with money from the parties’ joint account. She used her own nonmarital funds to invest in several businesses during the marriage, including an antique business. She stated that the businesses no longer existed and had no value. However, she did say that she still had possession of some antiques, including various items purchased with money from the joint account.

The wife testified that she separated from her husband in May 1993. At that time, she took $4,900 out of the parties’ joint account. After she left, her car broke down and she bought a 1992 Buick. At the time of the hearing, she still owed $9,000 for the car, and she had borrowed $3,300 for living expenses. Moreover, she testified that she had to buy everything after she separated because her husband kept all of the assets they accumulated during the marriage.

The husband testified that he was 67 years old and retired. He received $1,500 per month from his pension and social security. He also had rental income of approximately $200 per month. He has rheumatoid arthritis and walks with crutches. In February 1995, he had a lung partially removed. As a result of these medical conditions, he can no longer take care of himself and has live-in help at a cost of $200 per week. He testified that the bull he purchased during the marriage was sold for $1,000.

Following the hearing, the trial judge asked both parties to submit a proposed order. On September 21, 1995, the judge signed a judgment resolving the property issues. The judgment stated that the husband was to pay the wife’s car loan and her $3,300 loan for living expenses. It also stated that the husband was to pay the $12,500 due the wife for her payment toward the mortgage on the house. In addition, the husband was to pay the wife a "property settlement the sum of $72,500.00” and the wife’s attorney fees in the amount of $3,000.

On November 8, 1995, the husband filed a "motion to vacate and for nunc pro tunc order.” He stated that he had submitted a proposed judgment to the trial judge on July 12, 1995. He said he received a copy of the wife’s proposed judgment around September 6, 1995. On November 1, 1995, the husband’s attorney received a letter from the wife’s counsel asking when the husband would be paying the judgments entered against him. The husband’s attorney checked at the Henry County courthouse and found that a judgment had been signed by the trial judge on September 21, 1995. The husband stated in his motion that it was his belief that the trial judge inadvertently signed and entered the wife’s proposed judgment. He also stated that he was not notified that the judgment had been entered until he received the letter from the wife’s attorney on November 1, 1995.

In response, the wife filed a motion to dismiss the husband’s motion to vacate. She claimed that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to vacate the September 21, 1995, judgment because more than 30 days had passed since the judgment was entered.

A hearing was held on November 17, 1995. The trial judge stated that he did not remember what happened. The judge said that he did not intend to enter the judgment he signed on September 21, 1995. He also said that he must have signed the judgment out of inadvertence or neglect. Furthermore, during the hearing, the trial judge said:

"I can state unequivocally that the findings made in that order are not the findings that I formulated during my reflection of this case during the trial or after the trial.”

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Bluebook (online)
671 N.E.2d 55, 283 Ill. App. 3d 923, 219 Ill. Dec. 390, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 712, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-stufflebeam-illappct-1996.