Marriage of Poach v. Poach

392 N.W.2d 749, 1986 Minn. App. LEXIS 4717
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedSeptember 2, 1986
DocketC1-85-2357
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 392 N.W.2d 749 (Marriage of Poach v. Poach) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marriage of Poach v. Poach, 392 N.W.2d 749, 1986 Minn. App. LEXIS 4717 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

RANDALL, Judge.

JoAnn Poach appeals from the judgment and decree of dissolution entered September 23, 1985. She claims the trial court erred by valuing respondent's non-marital share of his business on December 31, 1974, instead of on May 11, 1974, the date of the parties’ marriage. She also claims the court erred in the amount and duration of rehabilitative maintenance, in its apportionment of attorney’s fees, and in failing to order respondent to include appellant on his health insurance policy. We reverse and remand to recalculate the property settlement, but affirm on all other issues.

FACTS

The parties were married May 11, 1974. At the time of the dissolution (September 23, 1985), appellant was fifty and respondent was fifty-seven years of age. Respondent has three adult children from his previous marriage. This is appellant’s first marriage. Respondent is the owner of a dry cleaning business.

On September 4, 1971, he and his previous employers, the Woodhams, formed a partnership, Don’s Leather Cleaning (DLC), in Rochester, Minnesota. Respondent contributed $1,000 and a mortgaged car to DLC, and also cosigned a $5,000 note with the Woodhams who were fifty per cent partners in the business. The Woodhams did not actively participate in running the business. In September, 1972, respondent borrowed $10,000 to buy out the Wood-ham’s interest in DLC. At trial respondent testified that the loan was not paid off at the time of the marriage, and that he did not know the exact loan balance on the date of the marriage.

About the time of the marriage, DLC leased a building in Rochester. DLC purchased this building sometime in 1974. On December 31, 1974, appellant testified that approximately $8,000 of the $30,631 purchase price of the Rochester building was paid. Part of the balance due was owed to *751 a bank and part to the seller on a contract for deed. In 1974, DLC leased a Minneapolis building for use as the base of DLC’s wholesale leather, pillow, hat, and fur cleaning business. DLC also rented fur cleaning equipment from the lessors of this building.

In 1977, to accommodate the rapidly expanding business, DLC moved from the Minneapolis building into another building it purchased on Lake Street in Minneapolis. It also purchased the fur-cleaning machines it had been renting. DLC sold the Rochester store in April, 1977.

Appellant was employed by Northwestern Bell from 1953 until 1975, at which time she quit at respondent’s request. In 1975, she worked in a managerial position at Bell. Shortly after the parties’ marriage, she began working part-time on nights and weekends for DLC. At some point she began working full time and continued to do so until 1978.

Appellant briefly held part-time jobs after 1978, but was forced to quit due to health problems. The trial court found appellant has glaucoma, back problems, and TMJ (a jaw condition) which place limitations on her ability to maintain gainful employment. Appellant has begun training as a chemical dependency treatment counsellor. Training will last approximately two years. An expert testified that she could earn $900 to $1,200 per month in an entry level counseling position.

Respondent’s three children were employed by DLC. During the parties’ marriage, respondent paid his children a total of approximately $75,000 in bonuses. He testified that these bonuses were for “services rendered” and to encourage the children to continue to work for DLC.

The parties stipulated that DLC’s 1984 value was $415,431, and then by mutual agreement the parties reduced that figure by $30,000. The value of respondent’s non-marital interest in DLC was at issue during trial.

Appellant’s expert testified that DLC’s value, as of May 11,1974, was $26,750. He used the analysis of Rev.Ruls. 68-09 and 59-60 in formulating his opinion. To compute DLC’s value, he calculated average annual income; from this he subtracted respondent’s salary, as well as income tax paid on respondent’s behalf, for an average of $3,723. He computed the return on assets by multiplying the average net book value, $20,752, by an 8% return rate to yield a return on assets of $1,660. He multiplied the excess earnings, average income less return, by a capitalization factor of five for good will of $10,315. He valued DLC’s assets as of December 31, 1973, at $11,478.

Respondent’s expert valued DLC as of June 30, 1974, at $119,397. He testified that he relied on Rev.Rul. 59-60 in evaluating DLC. In his calculations, respondent’s expert subtracted neither respondent’s salary nor income tax paid to arrive at DLC’s average income for 1972 and 1973; however, he did subtract them for 1974. He calculated the average income for these years at $21,389, and calculated return on assets in the same manner as did appellant’s expert. He used a capitalization factor of five and the net book value as the valuation of assets.

The trial court found that DLC had a value of $100,000.00 on December 31,1974.

The court awarded appellant $83,000 in income from a contract for deed which included a $30,000 down payment from the sale of the marital homestead, a cash settlement of $75,000 payable in four annual installments at 8% interest, and her non-marital property of unknown value.

The court found that respondent currently earns $74,823, and that he receives additional income of an undetermined amount, which the court found, “[is] not reflected on his tax returns.” The court awarded respondent the parties’ home in Montevideo, with a net value of $19,319; his non-marital DLC stock which the court valued at $214,000; DLC of Omaha stock valued at $45,000; boats and a boat slip valued at $42,000; a promissory note worth $19,046; and other stock valued at $375.

*752 ISSUES

1. Did the trial court err in determining respondent’s non-marital interest in DLC?

2. Did the trial court err in the amount and duration of the maintenance award?

3. Did the trial court err in apportioning attorney fees?

4. Did the trial court err in failing to order respondent to provide appellant with health insurance?

ANALYSIS

I.

Date of Valuation of Non-marital Share

Appellant challenges the trial court’s valuation of DLC on three grounds: that the court should have valued DLC on May 11, 1974, the date of the parties’ marriage, and not December 31, 1974; that much of the increase in DLC’s value is due to expansion of the business and not to appreciation, thus the court awarded a disproportionately large share of DLC to respondent as non-marital property; and that the court’s valuation of DLC was not supported by the evidence.

The trial court has broad discretion in property division and its decision will not be reversed absent a clear abuse of discretion. Bogen v. Bogen, 261 N.W.2d 606, 609 (Minn.1977).

Courts are required to make a just and equitable division of the marital property after making findings regarding the division of the property. Minn.Stat. § 518.58 (1984).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
392 N.W.2d 749, 1986 Minn. App. LEXIS 4717, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marriage-of-poach-v-poach-minnctapp-1986.