Marriage of Hill v. Hill

643 P.2d 582, 197 Mont. 451, 1982 Mont. LEXIS 781
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1982
DocketNo. 81-275
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 643 P.2d 582 (Marriage of Hill v. Hill) 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
Marriage of Hill v. Hill, 643 P.2d 582, 197 Mont. 451, 1982 Mont. LEXIS 781 (Mo. 1982).

Opinion

MR. JUSTICE HARRISON

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the District Court, Eighth Judicial District, State of Montana, Cascade County, arising out of a dissolution of marriage. Appellant wife was granted a dissolution of marriage on October 21, 1976, with the question of disposition of property reserved. On December 17, 1980, a hearing on the disposition of property was held in the District Court. The trial judge entered judgment disposing of the marital assets,, and from that judgment wife appeals.

The issues presented on appeal are:

1. Was there sufficient evidence for the District Court to find that respondent husband owned one-half interest as a tenant in common in the “Galloday Place”?

[453]*4532. Was there sufficient evidence for the District Court to find that the property known as the “Richardson Place” had a fair market value of $160,000 as of the date of the dissolution of marriage?

3. Was there sufficient evidence for the District Court to find that the property known as the “Home Place” had a fair market value of $160,000 as of the date of the dissolution of marriage?

4. Was there sufficient evidence for the District Court to conclude that the remainder interest which respondent received from his father’s estate was a vested remainder subject to divestment?

5. Should a vested remainder interest be included in the marital estate for purposes of property distribution?

6. Was there sufficient evidence for the District Court to conclude that the property known as the “Woodbury Place” should not be included in the marital estate?

7. Did the District Court err in deducting child support from the appellant’s share of the marital assets when respondent failed to petition for child support?

Respondent and appellant were married in Geyser, Montana, on June 14, 1959. Three children were born as issue of the marriage, but their custody is not in dispute. The dissolution of the parties’ marriage was granted October 21, 1976, with the disposition of property reserved.

Respondent is a farmer and cattle rancher. During most of the parties’ seventeen year marriage, they lived on a ranch near Raynesford, Montana, which respondent farms in conjunction with his mother, Anna Hill, and his brother LeRoy Hill. The ranch has always been a family operation.

Respondent inherited a one-fourth remainder interest in one- half of his parents’ ranch pursuant to a decree of distribution entered on October 16,1958, about eight months prior to the parties’ marriage. This property existed in two separate parcels known as the Home Place and the Richardson Place. Respondent’s brother resided on the Home Place which contains about 2,956 acres. Respondent and appellant resided on the Richardson Place which contains 1,199 acres. Respondent [454]*454and his brother each worked the parcel of land on which he resided.

On July 25, 1963, respondent and his brother purchased, as tenants in common, about 795 acres of land known as the Galloday Place. The land was financed by a mortgage on all of the land owned by the Hills, including Anna and LeRoy Hill.

At the time of the dissolution respondent operated the Gallo-day Place as his own property. Appellant testified that while LeRoy, the husband’s brother, had a one-half interest in the Galloday Place, it was in order that one day the husband would have the Richardson and Galloday Places and his brother would have the Home Place. Appellant also testified that respondent’s brother did not have anything to do with the Galloday Place but was helping pay for it so he could get the Home Place.

In addition, in 1972 the property was mortgaged to buy more land. At that time respondent’s two sisters signed a quitclaim deed to their interests over to their mother. Respondent testified this was done as a convenience to the Federal Land Bank to obtain the loan and that the sisters still have their equitable interests coming to them. The mortgage of all the Hill lands was increased again when the brother purchased other lands.

This case was some four years in coming to trial. It was not until the present trial judge insisted and set time periods to ready the case for trial that it finally was tried. One of the problems at trial arose from an order of the court, issued November 14, 1980, shortening the time for response to appellant’s interrogatories concerning the real property in which the husband claimed an interest and a request for a list of exhibits and permission to enter upon the property for inspection purposes. This order was not timely complied with, causing appellant problems at. the trial. At trial, respondent introduced his 1976 income tax return into evidence, and appellant alleges she did not have time to inspect it. Appellant also alleges that because of the lateness of its submission, she could not properly cross-examine respondent on the contents of the return.

[455]*455Subsequently, appellant requested the District Court to take judicial notice of respondent’s claimed one-half interest in 2,270 acres of land acquired in 1972 known as the Woodbury Place. However, no findings of fact or conclusions of law were made regarding this property.

Respondent did not petition for child support. The District Court, however, issued findings of fact and conclusions of law on the matter. The judgment entered on March 31, 1981, deducted $7,126 for child support payments from appellant’s property award.

The District Court found appellant’s share of the marital estate to be $30,432.51, less $7,126 for child support and $1,125 for appraisal.

The first issue is whether there was sufficient evidence for the District Court to find that the husband owned a one-half equitable interest in the property known as the Galloday Place. The Galloday Place was purchased in 1963 and recorded in the names of respondent and his brother as tenants in common. As previously noted, testimony indicated that the record owners of the Hill properties are not always the equitable owners. The respondent’s sisters quit-claimed their remainder interest in certain properties to their mother to assist in getting a loan from the Federal Land Bank. While the respondent is the legal one-half owner of the property as a tenant in common, according to the appellant, he considered himself the owner of the entire property.

The Galloday Place consists of 795 acres. The Black Place, which was part of the original Galloday Place, consisted of five acres. The respondent argues that while the Galloday Place was bought by him and his brother to be held in common ownership he does farm the property and has at times listed it in his financial statement. However, as previously noted, in this family ranch, operating much like a partnership, it was not uncommon when borrowing from a bank to include all the Hill family land which was to stand good for the loan. All the Hill lands were farmed together, and each place made a contribution whenever possible to the payment on the Federal Land Bank mortgage. Therefore, respondent argues, the trial [456]*456court had reasonable evidence before it on which it could draw its conclusion.

The rule in Montana for our review of a property division of marital cases is whether the District Court acted arbitrarily, without employment of conscientious judgment or exceeded the bounds of reason in view of the circumstances.

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Bluebook (online)
643 P.2d 582, 197 Mont. 451, 1982 Mont. LEXIS 781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marriage-of-hill-v-hill-mont-1982.