Matter of Marriage of Yager

963 P.2d 137, 155 Or. App. 407, 1998 Ore. App. LEXIS 1319
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 5, 1998
Docket9512-74570; CA A96143
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 963 P.2d 137 (Matter of Marriage of Yager) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Marriage of Yager, 963 P.2d 137, 155 Or. App. 407, 1998 Ore. App. LEXIS 1319 (Or. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

*409 LANDAU, P. J.

Husband appeals a dissolution judgment that declares invalid the parties’ prenuptial agreement, divides the parties’ assets, awards wife an equalizing judgment and orders husband to pay that judgment over the next 10 years. Husband challenges the trial court’s conclusion that the prenuptial agreement is invalid and further disputes the terms of the division of assets. Wife cross-appeals, challenging the trial court’s division of assets, its refusal to exclude certain testimony as to the value of those assets and its failure to award her spousal support. On de novo review, ORS 19.415(3), we conclude that the trial court erred in declaring invalid the prenuptial agreement and reverse and remand for reconsideration of the division of assets in light of that conclusion. We do not address the parties’ other contentions regarding the division of assets. We do address wife’s assignment on cross-appeal regarding the valuation testimony, as that issue likely will be relevant to the trial court’s decision on remand.

The parties began living together in January 1982, when husband was separated, but not yet divorced, from his former wife. Both husband and wife had been married twice before. Wife had several jobs before she and husband began living together, including practicing as a licensed real estate agent. Husband was the half-owner of Basic Fire Protection, Inc., which designs, fabricates and installs automatic fire sprinkler systems. He owned, with a partner, the real estate on which the business is located. He also owned a substantial interest in a number of real properties, including a house and acreage in North Plains, a residence in Northeast Portland, a vacation home in Silver Lake, Washington, another in Canada, and beach property in Washington, as well as personal properties, including several boats. In addition, husband had a pension with the business and maintained several individual retirement accounts.

In June 1982, husband and his former wife were divorced, and husband and wife became engaged. In the several months that followed, the parties discussed husband’s various holdings. Wife learned of his interest in the business *410 and the real property on which it was located. Husband told her of his pension, although he did not explain the precise amount of benefits that he had accrued at that time. Wife learned of his interest in the boats and the various other properties, as well. She visited the Silver Lake property more than once. She stayed at the vacation home in Canada. She drove by the North Plains residence, where, husband explained, his daughter by an earlier marriage then lived. She also drove by the Northeast Portland residence.

In early November 1982, husband asked his attorney, James Dicey, to draft a prenuptial agreement. Dicey did so, and, for the purpose of disclosing all of husband’s assets, Dicey attached a copy of the June 1982 property settlement from husband’s divorce, which listed each of the foregoing real and personal assets. The list did not include any specific values for each of the assets, however. The agreement provided that each party retained ownership of all property owned as of the date of the marriage. It provided that each made full disclosure to the other about their respective assets and that neither had any unanswered questions about the property of the other. It further expressly provided that wife read the attached settlement agreement that listed husband’s assets.

Approximately two weeks later, husband showed the proposed prenuptial agreement to wife. She read it, but did not agree with it. She insisted that she be given a one-half interest in the house in which they resided. Husband agreed and had Dicey prepare an amended agreement. When husband presented the amended agreement to wife, he urged her to seek independent counsel. He gave her the names of three attorneys recommended by Dicey. Wife selected one, Charles Hodges. Wife scheduled an appointment with Hodges for December 7,1982, four days before the parties’ wedding.

Wife met with Hodges for approximately one-half hour. Husband later joined her, and Hodges explained to the parties the seriousness of the agreement and asked if either had any questions. Both husband and wife signed the agreement in the presence of Hodges. The parties then were married on December 11,1982.

*411 At trial, the court first held a hearing on the validity of the prenuptial agreement. Wife testified that she read the agreement in its original and its amended form. She said that she was aware that husband had ownership interests in the properties listed in the agreement, but that she did not know precisely the nature and value of those interests. She said that she understood at the time of execution that the agreement permitted husband to retain his interest in the assets listed. She said that she was upset about the agreement because it suggested less than a total commitment to their relationship, but that she signed it anyway because the wedding already had been planned and because she was not marrying him for his money.

The trial court concluded that the agreement was invalid. The court explained that husband’s disclosure to wife as to the nature and value of his assets was insufficient and that the time wife had to consider the agreement was too short to uphold the validity of the agreement. The court noted that, because of its ruling on the validity of the agreement, it had refrained from considering the proper construction of the agreement—specifically, whether it applied to the increase in value of the listed assets that occurred during the marriage.

The parties then went to trial on the distribution of the marital assets. During the trial, husband called a real estate agent, James Hodges III, to give a comparative market analysis to determine at what price particular properties probably would sell. Wife objected on the ground that Hodges was not qualified to give an appraisal. Hodges explained that he was indeed not qualified to give an appraisal and that he was not attempting to give one. The trial court overruled the objection, explaining that the objection went to the weight of the testimony.

On appeal, husband challenges the trial court’s conclusion that the prenuptial agreement is invalid. He argues that he informed wife of all of his assets, gave her ample opportunity to review the agreement and to insist on amendments to which he agreed and insisted that she consult with her own counsel about the terms of the agreement before executing it. He argues that, in fact, she knew about his assets and had personally viewed nearly every one. Wife contends *412 that the trial court correctly concluded that the agreement is invalid. According to wife, the law requires full and complete disclosure of the value of each asset and the precise nature of the ownership interest in it, which information husband did not make available in this case.

The validity of a prenuptial agreement is determined in the context of the circumstances in which it was executed. Merrill v. Merrill, 275 Or 653, 656, 552 P2d 249 (1976). In evaluating those circumstances,

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Related

In Re the Marriage of Loomis
268 P.3d 700 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
963 P.2d 137, 155 Or. App. 407, 1998 Ore. App. LEXIS 1319, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-marriage-of-yager-orctapp-1998.