Parr v. Parr

773 S.W.2d 135, 1989 Mo. App. LEXIS 664, 1989 WL 49736
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 16, 1989
DocketNo. WD 40892
StatusPublished

This text of 773 S.W.2d 135 (Parr v. Parr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parr v. Parr, 773 S.W.2d 135, 1989 Mo. App. LEXIS 664, 1989 WL 49736 (Mo. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

GAITAN, Judge.

Petitioner-appellant, Dolores A. Parr, appeals the trial court’s decision to not apportion any of respondent, Bobby Joe Parr’s military retirement pension benefits to her as a former spouse of a retired member of the United States military, and attorney fees. Affirmed.

The original dissolution hearing occurred on January 16, 1978 in Pettis County, Missouri. A transcript of the hearing from that case reflects that Dolores was the only party to testify, although both parties were represented by an attorney. The parties were married July 24,1955. They had five children, three of whom were unemanci-pated at the time of the dissolution and were placed in the custody of their mother. Dolores testified at the dissolution hearing that the Stipulation and Property Settlement Agreement (Agreement) that was entered into disposed of all their marital property. She also testified that Bobby Joe earned $680.00 per month and that he also received $460.34 per month as his retirement from the Navy. Thereafter, the Honorable Donald L. Barnes noted that Bobby Joe’s total monthly income was in excess of $1000.00.

The Agreement enumerated certain items to Dolores: (1) the residence of the parties in Pettis County, Missouri; (2) the household furniture, furnishings and contents; (3) the real estate owned by the parties in Texas; and (4) a 1970 Pontiac. In addition to receiving a 1971 Plymouth station wagon, Bobby Joe also received his clothing, fishing equipment and a rifle. The enumerated items were not identified in detail and there were no legal descriptions or addresses of the real property or vehicle identification numbers for the automobiles. The last paragraph of the Agreement provided that:

12. All of the rest and residue of the property not herein enumerated and set forth in more detail, shall be and become the property of [Bobby Joe Parr],

There was no express mention of the military retirement in the Agreement. The trial court’s docket entry in the present action does not indicate whether it was concluded that the military pension had been distributed in the original dissolution action or that Dolores was simply not entitled to any portion thereof.

The first point raised is that the trial court erred in denying Dolores a portion of the nondisability military retirement benefits in that those benefits were marital property and undistributed in the original dissolution action. We disagree. In 1978, under Missouri law, nondisability military pension was marital property which was subject to division by the trial court in a dissolution proceeding. Daffin v. Daffin, 567 S.W.2d 672, 677 (Mo.App.1978); In re Marriage of Weaver, 606 S.W.2d 243, 244 (Mo.App.1980). The parties were already married when Bobby Joe entered the Navy and the pension benefits had vested and matured at the time of their dissolution.

Section 452.330, RSMo 1986, requires that the dissolution court distribute all martial property between the parties. Although the dissolution court is not required to ascribe a value to each item distributed, there must be sufficient evidence in the decree upon which the trial court could have determined the value of the property disposed. Dardick v. Dardick, 670 S.W.2d 865, 869 (Mo. banc 1984). Additionally, section 452.325, RSMo 1986, authorizes the parties to enter into a separation agreement. The court is bound by the agreement “unless it finds, after considering the economic circumstances of the parties and other relevant evidence produced by the parties ... that the separation agreement is unconscionable.” § 452.325.2, RSMo 1986.

In the case at bar, there is no mention of the military pension in the court’s Order or in the parties’ Agreement. However, at [137]*137the dissolution hearing Dolores was asked the following by her attorney:

Q. Dolores, you and he have arrived at a property settlement with respect to your property, have you?
A. Yes.
Q. I will show you a copy of what we have just filed today and ask you if that is your property settlement?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you see some signatures on the second page of that?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you recognize the signatures?
A. Yes.
Q. Whose signatures are those?
A. Bobby Joe’s and mine, yours and Mr. Brown’s.
Q. That is dated as of today, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. You signed that this morning?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Does this dispose of all of your marital property?
A. Yes. It does.
Q. Are you satisfied that it is both fair to you and to your husband?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you asking the Court to approve that?
A. Yes.

The court also asked Dolores questions in regard to her husband’s income:

INTERROGATION BY THE COURT
Q. What is your husband’s employment?
A. Missouri State Department of Corrections.
Q. What is his income?
A. The last I knew, it was six hundred and eighty dollars a month for that. Then he has retirement from the Navy.
Q. What does that amount to?
A. Four hundred and sixty dollars and thirty-four cents.
Q. So the total income would be in excess of one thousand dollars?
A. Yes. He is getting some money for going to school right now but that won’t last too long.

After listening to Dolores’ testimony, the court approved the Agreement and the division of the marital property pursuant to the Agreement.

The dispositive issue in the case at bar is whether there was sufficient evidence before the dissolution court to allow the “catchall” paragraph in the Agreement to encompass the military pension pay so that the pension is not an omitted, undistributed marital asset. In relation to this issue is Dolores’ second contention that the trial court erred in refusing her attorney’s offer of proof. Robert Liston had been Dolores’ attorney in the dissolution action and testified before the trial court. The following offer of proof was presented before the trial judge.

MR. DENNIS: Your Honor, the question would be whether or not there was any communication between Mr. Brown and Mr. Liston concerning Mr.

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Related

Murphy v. Carron
536 S.W.2d 30 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1976)
In Re the Marriage of Weaver
606 S.W.2d 243 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1980)
Dow v. Dow
732 S.W.2d 906 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1987)
Dardick v. Dardick
670 S.W.2d 865 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1984)
Daffin v. Daffin
567 S.W.2d 672 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1978)
Murphy v. Murphy
763 S.W.2d 237 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1988)
Whittier v. Whittier
734 S.W.2d 949 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1987)
Davolt v. Davolt
764 S.W.2d 497 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
773 S.W.2d 135, 1989 Mo. App. LEXIS 664, 1989 WL 49736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parr-v-parr-moctapp-1989.