Case Name: In re the Marriage of Mary Jean STEWART, a/k/a Mary O. Stewart, Petitioner, Appellant, v. Frank Richard STEWART, Respondent
Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Minnesota
Decision Date: 1987-02-03
Citations: 400 N.W.2d 157
Docket Number: No. C2-86-1485
Parties: In re the Marriage of Mary Jean STEWART, a/k/a Mary O. Stewart, Petitioner, Appellant, v. Frank Richard STEWART, Respondent.
Judges: Heard, considered and decided by RANDALL, P.J., and FOLEY and WOZNIAK, JJ.
Reporter: North Western Reporter 2d
Volume: 400
Pages: 157–160

Head Matter:
In re the Marriage of Mary Jean STEWART, a/k/a Mary O. Stewart, Petitioner, Appellant, v. Frank Richard STEWART, Respondent.
No. C2-86-1485.
Court of Appeals of Minnesota.
Feb. 3, 1987.
Robert Lewis Barrows, John W. Getsinger, Leonard, Street and Deinard, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Marybeth Dorn, Nancy A. Wiltgen, Pepin Dayton Herman Graham and Getts, P.A., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard, considered and decided by RANDALL, P.J., and FOLEY and WOZNIAK, JJ.

Opinion:
OPINION
WOZNIAK, Judge.
This is an appeal from a post-decree order construing the parties' 1979 dissolution decree. The district court construed language in the decree to allow respondent, without appellant's consent, to renew notes secured by the parties' jointly-owned shares of stock. Appellant contends the decree does not permit renewals of the notes. She appeals from the district court's order construing the decree to permit renewals. We affirm.
FACTS
The parties were divorced in 1979. During the marriage, respondent Frank Richard Stewart, Jr. took out several loans from the First National Bank of Stillwater and other banks. The loans were secured by 2900 shares of Merrill Lynch stock jointly owned by the parties. These loans matured in 1980.
The parties entered into a stipulation which was incorporated into the decree. By this stipulation, appellant Mary Jean Stewart received a contingent interest in one-half of the Merrill Lynch stock, subject to First National Bank's security interest. Dividends from the stock were to be applied to pay interest on the loans. If Frank defaults and the bank forecloses, Frank is not obligated to reimburse Mary Jean for her loss.
When the loans matured in 1980, Frank renewed them. He continued to renew them on an annual basis, pledging his interest in the Merrill Lynch stock. Frank continued to apply the dividends to the interest due and to reduce the principal. While interest has generally exceeded the dividends, he has reduced the principal from $46,850 to $38,000.
In November 1984, on Mary Jean's motion, the court required Frank to furnish her a verified accounting record of all transactions involving the Merrill Lynch stock. He agreed to release 1500 shares of the stock to her; however, he was only able to release 950 shares. Mary Jean entered into an agreement with First National Bank that they would not renew the loans without her prior written consent.
In November 1985 Mary Jean brought a motion for construction of the decree and requested a distribution of the remainder of her shares of stock. She claimed the notes existing in 1985 were new debts, not the "existing debt" referred to in the judgment and decree. All of the notes are now overdue and Mary Jean refuses to consent to renewals.
ISSUE
Did the trial court err by interpreting the phrase "existing loans" to include renewal loans?
ANALYSIS
This case turns on interpretation of the stipulation incorporated in the dissolution decree. The interpretation of written documents is a question of law, and this court may examine the matter de novo. Vanderleest v. Vanderleest, 352 N.W.2d 54, 56 (Minn.Ct.App.1984).
Both parties, represented by counsel, stipulated to the following provisions:
8. The parties shall equally divide the 2,900 shares of Merrill-Lynch stock currently held as collateral for various loans at the First National Bank of Stillwater subject, however, to the right of First National Bank of Stillwater to hold said stock as collateral for existing loans. Respondent shall immediately notify [appellant] of any event of default under said loans or any act of foreclosure, and shall notify said bank to include [appellant] in any mailings regarding default or foreclosure. Dividends accrued on said stock shall be used to pay interest against the loans collateralized by said stock, and any distributions of dividends shall be divided equally between the parties. Respondent shall not sell or otherwise dispose of any of said stock without the prior written consent of [appellant]. At such time as said stock is released from its position as collateral, one-half the share shall immediately be distributed to [appellant] and one-half to respondent.
9. Respondent shall assume and hold [appellant] harmless from the payment of the debts of the parties at First National Bank of St. Paul and First National Bank of Stillwater and Merchants Bank of Mobile, Alabama, except that [appellant] shall be solely responsible for the first and second mortgages on the home described in paragraph 7(a) herein-above. In the event the respondent defaults in any of his obligations as described in this paragraph and the First National Bank of Stillwater forecloses on the Merrill-Lynch stock jointly held by them as collateral, the respondent shall have no obligation to reimburse [appellant] therefor. Neither party shall incur credit in the name of the other, and each shall be responsible for his or her own existing personal debts based upon purchases made or credit incurred since the date of separation of the parties.
(Emphasis added.) Mary Jean claims the term "existing loans" includes only the loans in existence when judgment was entered in 1979, and not renewals of those loans. She argues that the renewals are actually new loans with new notes and new interest rates. She also claims that Frank released his stock while repledging hers.
We must interpret the terms of a divorce decree to be reasonable, effective, and conclusive so it harmonizes both the law and the facts of the case. Palmi v. Palmi, 273 Minn. 97, 104, 140 N.W.2d 77, 82 (1966). To arrive at the meaning of a judgment or decree, the judgment should be considered as a whole by a court interpreting any clause or sentence therein. Id. at 102, 140 N.W.2d at 81.
We have reviewed the language of the decree and we agree with the trial court's interpretation. The court's finding that the clause, "[i]n the event the respondent defaults and the First National Bank of Stillwater forecloses on the Merrill-Lynch stock jointly held by them as collateral, the respondent shall have no obligation to reimburse petitioner therefor," allows Frank to renew the notes, is reasonable, and is supported by the evidence. See Halverson v. Halverson, 381 N.W.2d 69, 72 (Minn.Ct.App.1986). Between 1979 and 1985, Mary Jean acquiesced in several renewals of the notes. She benefited by the renewals because the renewals prevented Frank from defaulting on the loans with no obligation to reimburse her for the loss. Allowing renewals of the notes without Mary Jean's signature is within the court's discretion.
Moreover, the execution of a renewal note evidences a new promise to pay the same debt. It does not constitute discharge of the original note; it merely extends the time for payment. Farmers Union Oil Co. v. Fladeland, 287 Minn. 315, 319, 178 N.W.2d 254, 257 (1970).
We hold the terms of the decree allow renewals of the loans referred to in the decree and that the court acted within its discretion by authorizing renewals without Mary Jean's signature. At oral argument, appellant asked this court for other forms of relief she did not request at trial. These matters are beyond our scope of review.
DECISION
The judgment and decree permits renewals of the loans secured by the parties' jointly-owned stock.
Affirmed.