Saettele v. Saettele

560 S.W.3d 921
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 13, 2018
DocketNo. ED 106263
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 560 S.W.3d 921 (Saettele v. Saettele) 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
Saettele v. Saettele, 560 S.W.3d 921 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

James M. Dowd, Judge *924Michael Saettele (Husband) appeals the judgment and decree of dissolution of his marriage to Julie Saettele (Wife). Husband claims the trial court erred in connection with its property division by failing to properly delineate the parties' property as marital or nonmarital; by ordering spousal maintenance to be non-modifiable and for a limited term; and by permitting Husband's attorney to withdraw from the case on the day of trial. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and reverse and remand in part.

Factual and Procedural Background

Husband and Wife married on September 4, 1999, and there were no children born of the marriage. Wife filed for divorce on February 27, 2017. At the time of the dissolution, Wife claimed that she was making $130,000 per year. Husband was unemployed, but earned approximately $650 per month from rental income and $1,100 per month from Social Security disability payments. Husband requested spousal maintenance as part of the dissolution.

Trial was set for October 18, 2017. That morning, before trial began, Husband fired his attorney in open court and left the courthouse. The trial proceeded without him with the court taking evidence and hearing testimony from Wife. Husband now claims that he was unaware that the trial would proceed because he believed it had been continued for two months. The court also heard testimony from the court's bailiff concerning the statements and actions of Husband in firing his attorney and leaving the courtroom and the courthouse. Later that day, Husband filed a pro se motion to set aside the divorce judgment. Judgment of dissolution was entered the next day, October 19, 2017.

The judgment awarded Husband non-modifiable maintenance of $1,500 per month which expired in 60 months. This future date was set to coincide with Husband becoming able to draw on his retirement funds, which Wife testified would occur "in about five years." Wife did not testify to the amount of these benefits.

The judgment also divided the parties' property and debts. However, with a few exceptions, the court did not make specific findings regarding whether the distributed property was marital or nonmarital. The record shows that the parties owned three assets of real property, two of which the parties agreed were marital property. Each party was awarded one of those properties. The parties disputed whether the third real estate property, located on Jackson Avenue (the Jackson Property), was marital or nonmarital. While the Jackson Property was owned by Husband prior to the marriage, Wife claimed that it was converted into marital property during the marriage. The court awarded Husband the Jackson Property without having identified it as marital or nonmarital.

The court denied Husband's motion to set aside the divorce judgment as well as his motion to amend the judgement. This appeal follows.

Standard of Review

In non-jury civil cases, including dissolution cases, we affirm the trial court's judgment unless it is not supported by substantial evidence, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. Murphy v. Canon , 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976) ;

*925N.M.O. v. D.P.O., 115 S.W.3d 854, 856 (Mo. App. E.D. 2003).

Discussion

I. The trial court erred in failing to identify whether the parties' property was marital or nonmarital

Husband claims that the trial court erred by failing to make findings as to the values of all of the marital property, and by failing to make proper findings as to which properties were marital and nonmarital. We agree that the court erred by failing to identify which properties were marital and which were nonmarital.

Section 452.330 RSMo (2016) mandates that trial courts "shall set apart to each spouse such spouse's nonmarital property and shall divide the marital property and marital debts in such proportions as the court deems just after considering" factors enumerated in the Section. Thus, trial courts are required to delineate between marital and nonmarital property and the failure to do so constitutes reversible error because it precludes this Court from determining whether the judgment is supported by substantial evidence or is against the weight of the evidence. Wilkerson v. Wilkerson , 50 S.W.3d 281, 283 (Mo. App. S.D. 2000) ("The trial court's judgment must be reversed for failure to delineate what is marital property and what is nonmarital property,"); see also Oetterer v. Oetterer, 60 S.W.3d 48, 52 (Mo. App. E.D. 2001) ("Failure to specifically identify property as marital or nonmarital makes it impossible to determine whether a trial court's division of marital property is 'just' under Section 452.330.").

While the failure to specify whether property is marital or nonmarital normally requires reversal, we do not have to reverse if a review of the record demonstrates that the property distribution is otherwise just. Degerinis v. Degerinis , 724 S.W.2d 717, 721 (Mo. App. E.D. 1987).

In the present case, however, the trial court largely failed to delineate the marital or nonmarital status of the parties' property which means we are unable to determine whether the distribution is otherwise just. See Wilkerson, 50 S.W.3d at 283. Although Wife introduced an exhibit which purports to classify all property sub judice as marital, the court did not attach, mention, or incorporate that exhibit into its holding. And although the court addressed the legal ownership of the three real estate properties, the judgment failed to delineate their marital or nonmarital status. These deficiencies together with the failure to delineate the marital or nonmarital status of much of the remainder of the parties' property represents a failure to satisfy § 452.330 which mandates reversal.

Husband also claims the trial court erred by failing to place values on various properties. A trial court, however, is not required to determine specific values of items of marital property unless a party requests such findings, or unless the record contains insufficient evidence to enable the court to make a just division. Hoecker v. Hoecker ,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

JURIS P. SIMANIS v. CATHERINE L. SIMANIS
Missouri Court of Appeals, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
560 S.W.3d 921, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saettele-v-saettele-moctapp-2018.