Husband brought an action against Wife to exercise his right to purchase the marital home and compel Wife to deliver the deed. Husband exercised his right. The district court concluded it would be inequitable to interpret the decree to require Wife to pay off the mortgage if Husband exercised his right of first purchase. Husband appeals the district court s determination that in order to purchase the home he must assume the mortgage. When a marital dissolution judgment and decree is entered pursuant to a stipulation, the stipulation merges into the judgment and decree.
Stipulations are binding contracts.
Absent ambiguity, a judgment and decree is a final distribution of the marital property. The district court may not modify a final division of property, but it may clarify provisions of a dissolution decree or stipulation so long as it does not alter the parties substantive rights. Whether a stipulated dissolution decree is clear or ambiguous is a legal question, which this court reviews de novo. Here, the language of the stipulation is ambiguous because it fails to clearly indicate whether Husband will assume the mortgage if he exercises his first right of purchase or whether Wife must maintain the mortgage after Husband buys the home. Because the parties interpretations conflict and both readings of the provision are plausible, we conclude that the stipulation is ambiguous and affirm the district court s determination on that issue.