In Re Marriage of Stufft

950 P.2d 1373, 286 Mont. 239, 54 State Rptr. 1391, 1997 Mont. LEXIS 271
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 19, 1997
Docket97-040
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 950 P.2d 1373 (In Re Marriage of Stufft) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court 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 Stufft, 950 P.2d 1373, 286 Mont. 239, 54 State Rptr. 1391, 1997 Mont. LEXIS 271 (Mo. 1997).

Opinion

JUSTICE TRIEWEILER

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

The petitioner, David F. Stufft, petitioned the District Court for the Eighth Judicial District in Cascade County for dissolution of his marriage to the respondent, Mayla S. Stufft. The District Court entered a decree which dissolved the parties’ marriage, divided the marital estate, established David’s responsibility for child support, and awarded maintenance to Mayla. David appeals the maintenance and child support awards, and the division of the parties’ property. We affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the District Court, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The issues on appeal are as follows:

*243 1. Did the District Court err when it divided the marital estate?
2. Did the District Court err when it awarded child support?
3. Did the District Court err when it awarded maintenance to Mayla?

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

David and Mayla Stufft were married in 1971. Three children were bom of the marriage. During their marriage, David attended and graduated from law school. Following his graduation in 1977, the family moved to Cut Bank, where David continues to practice law. The parties’ marriage was dissolved in 1995 and David and Mayla were granted joint custody of the children. Mayla was designated the primary residential custodian.

In the parties’ first decree of dissolution, the court distributed the property in the marital estate and awarded Mayla child support and maintenance. David appealed from the District Court’s decision. See In re Marriage of Stufft (1996), 276 Mont. 454, 916 P.2d 767. We remanded for reconsideration of issues related to property valuation, child support, and maintenance. This appeal is from the District Court’s decision following remand.

As a result of the first appeal, we remanded this case to the District Court for: (1) findings which would explain how it calculated its award of child support based on the guidelines and any deviation therefrom; (2) findings to support a valuation of the Stufft Farm Stock and the Stufft Law Firm; and (3) reconsideration of maintenance in the context of the other issues. See Stufft, 276 Mont. at 461-62, 916 P.2d at 770-72. We also instructed the District Court to reconsider its distribution of the marital estate assets and debts once the court had determined the value of the Stufft Law Firm and the Stufft Farm Stock. See Stufft, 276 Mont. at 461, 916 P.2d at 772.

Following remand, the District Court held another hearing and heard additional testimony. On January 13, 1997, the District Court issued its findings of fact and conclusions of law, and on January 22, 1997, issued its modified decree. David appeals the District Court’s valuation and division of marital property and its award of child support and maintenance.

ISSUE 1

Did the District Court err when it divided the marital estate?

We review the findings of fact upon which a district court’s division of marital property is based to determine whether they are clearly *244 erroneous. See Stufft, 276 Mont. at 459, 916 P.2d at 770. If those findings are not clearly erroneous, the district court’s distribution of property is discretionary and is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Stufft, 276 Mont. at 459, 916 P.2d at 770.

The District Court distributed assets worth $111,421 to Mayla, and assets worth $133,500 to David. As part of this distribution, Mayla received a certificate of deposit worth $19,800, furniture valued at $20,000, the family home valued at $155,000, a vehicle valued at $5,500, and a travel trailer valued at $2,000. David received the assets of the Stufft Law Firm, which the court valued at $50,000, 20 shares of stock from Stufft Farms valued at $1,000, furniture valued at $10,000, a boat and trailer valued at $9,500, ahorse valued at $500, a 1994 Dodge valued at $20,000, and 50 percent interest in David’s partnership rental building valued at $20,000. The court assigned debt in the amount of $76,233 to Mayla, and debt in the amount of $112,000 to David. On appeal, David assigns error, in general, to the District Court’s property distribution and, specifically, to the District Court’s award of the $19,800 certificate of deposit to Mayla, the distribution of furniture of sentimental value, the award of the total value of the family home to Mayla, the assignment of debt related to the family home and David’s law practice, the valuation of the Stufft Law Firm, the distribution of the family’s horse, and the value of the automobile awarded to Mayla. We will address each of these issues individually.

A. Certificate of Deposit

David contends that he spent the value of the $19,800 certificate of deposit awarded to Mayla on operating expenses for his law firm prior to the original trial and, therefore, that he should not be required to pay Mayla the equivalent of what is now a dissipated asset. According to David, the court awarded a “non-existent” certificate of deposit to Mayla which was spent by the time of the first trial. We conclude, however, that David’s own testimony and proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law support the District Court’s award. First, we note that at a hearing held on December 10, 1996, David testified that the certificate of deposit was in existence at the time of trial. Second, in his proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law from the original hearing, David lists as a marital asset a $19,800 certificate of deposit as property that should be awarded to him. Based on this evidence, we conclude that the District Court’s finding with regard to the existence of the certificate of deposit was not clearly erroneous and its award of that item was not an abuse of *245 discretion. The fact that David chose to dissipate what the District Court had determined to be a marital asset does not preclude the distribution of the value of that asset to Mayla.

B. Furniture

David next contends that Mayla has in her possession several items of furniture which have sentimental value to David. The District Court ordered Mayla to return those items or certify in writing that she no longer has them. The court also ordered that if any furniture item is being used for the benefit of any of the children, then it should be returned when that child matures and leaves the family home. At trial, David described these items of furniture as being a roll-top desk, an Indian hammerhead, antique living room furniture, half of a collection of oriental rugs, an antique oak table, and an antique Colt revolver. The court described these items of furniture, valued at $10,000, as including a roll-top desk, antique living room furniture, a toboggan, and an Indian hammerhead, but failed to mention the collection of oriental rugs, the antique oak table, and the antique Colt revolver.

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Bluebook (online)
950 P.2d 1373, 286 Mont. 239, 54 State Rptr. 1391, 1997 Mont. LEXIS 271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-stufft-mont-1997.