Title: Loeb v. Loeb
Citation: 301 N.E.2d 349
Docket Number: 171S18
State: Indiana
Issuer: Indiana Supreme Court
Date: September 26, 1973

301 N.E.2d 349 (1973)
Millicent R. LOEB, Appellant (Plaintiff below),
v.
Edward Samuel LOEB et al., Appellees (Defendants below).
No. 171S18.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
September 26, 1973.
*350 Thomas W. Munger, George E. Weigle, Lafayette, for appellant.
Louis Pearlman, Jr., Lafayette, for appellees.
HUNTER, Justice.[*]
This is an appeal from the trial court's decree awarding a divorce, custody of minor children, and certain property to the plaintiff-appellant in a divorce action. This Court entertains jurisdiction pursuant to Ind. Ann. Stat. § 4-214 (Burns 1968 Repl.). [Note: Burns § 4-214 was repealed effective January 1, 1972.] The appellant raises the following issues for our review:
(1) Whether the trial court awarded the plaintiff an adequate property settlement award.
(2) Whether the trial court erred in evaluating certain corporate stock owned by defendant.
(3) Whether the trial court adequately provided for the support of minor children.
(4) Whether the trial court erred in waiving and forgiving support payments accrued but unpaid under a pendente lite support order.
Defendant-appellee filed a motion to dismiss this appeal on February 22, 1969. Omitting formal parts and attached exhibits, said motion reads as follows:
In light of this Court's recent decision in Alderson v. Alderson (1972), Ind., 281 N.E.2d 82, the above motion must be overruled. Alderson abrogated the outdated doctrine of indivisibility as it relates to appeals from divorce decrees. We stated in Alderson:
Overruling the motion to dismiss, we shall now treat this appeal on its merits. The parties were married on June 21, 1952. On June 1, 1966, the plaintiff filed a petition for separate maintenance, charging the defendant with habitual cruelty. The plaintiff sought custody of the minor children, alimony in the sum of $400,000, and child support. Also the plaintiff filed a petition for suit and support money pendente lite wherein she prayed for an order requiring defendant to pay a reasonable sum for her and the children's support and for a reasonable sum to prosecute said suit along with attorney fees. On October 17, 1967, defendant filed a cross-complaint for divorce and then, on December 12, 1967, moved for a change of venue. The cause was venued to Montgomery Circuit Court on February 7, 1968. On March 7, 1969, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint seeking divorce.
The defendant is the general manager of Loeb's, Inc., a close corporation owned by defendant's family, of which the defendant's mother is president. On January 27, 1955, the defendant's mother executed a trust agreement which reads in pertinent part as follows:
The plaintiff contends that the defendant's beneficial interest under the trust has a pecuniary value that should have been included in the property settlement award. She argues that a vested remainder was created in favor of the defendant. The defendant, in turn, maintains that his interest is "contingent" only. Both parties in addressing this issue have overlooked the critical scope of inquiry. The central question is not whether the interest is "vested" or "contingent," but, rather, the issue is whether the future interest is so remote that it should not have been included in the property settlement award. Nevertheless, we shall begin by answering the arguments posed.
Nearly one hundred years ago, this Court held that a remainder may be created in personal property as well as in realty. Owen et al. v. Cooper (1874), 46 Ind. 524. Simes and Smith, The Law of Future Interests, § 147, p. 153 (2nd ed. 1956), lends the following discussion on the classification of remainders:
In Howard v. Batchelder (1956), 143 Conn. 328, 122 A.2d 307, 310, the court states the rule as follows:
Applying the foregoing rules to the facts of the case at bar, we find that the defendant was granted a vested remainder subject to a condition subsequent, i.e., his interest is subject to complete defeasance if he should predecease the settlor. That conclusion, of course, does not end our inquiry. The real issue is whether the remainder should have been included in the property settlement award. We hold that it should not have been so included.
The amount of alimony to be allowed in a divorce suit is a matter within the trial court's discretion and its decision will not be reversed on appeal unless an abuse of discretion is shown. Heckman v. Heckman (1956), 235 Ind. 472, 134 N.E.2d 695; Shula v. Shula (1956), 235 Ind. 210, 132 N.E.2d 612; Dissette v. Dissette (1935), 208 Ind. 567, 196 N.E. 684; Van Natta v. Van Natta (1919), 188 Ind. 75, 121 N.E. 825. Under the terms of the trust agreement, it should be noted that the defendant has no present interest of possessory value. If he should predecease his mother, he takes nothing under the trust. Further, the trustees have no authority to invade the corpus during the settlor's lifetime. The beneficiaries reap no income while their mother is living. Likewise, the defendant husband is not presently possessed of any pecuniary vlaue which could have been before the trial court for disposition. The trial court correctly refused to include the remote interest in the property settlement award. We reach the foregoing conclusion after an exhaustive analysis of persuasive authority from outside the State of Indiana as this is a case of first impression in our jurisdiction.
We find unanimous agreement with the proposition that a wife's interest under a trust where she is not a beneficiary can never be greater than her beneficiary-husband's interest. She cannot reach his beneficial interest to satisfy a claim for alimony or support unless and until he has rights to the trust funds. Sefton v. San Diego Trust &amp; Savings Bank (1940), Cal. App., 106 P.2d 974; In re Watts (1945), 160 Kan. 377, 162 P.2d 82; Slaff v. Slaff (1959), 9 App.Div.2d 80, 191 N.Y.S.2d 636; Shelley v. Shelley (1960), 223 Or. 328, 354 P.2d 282.
*354 In Shelley v. Shelley, supra, the Oregon Supreme Court faced the issue as to whether a husband's interest under a discretionary trust could be applied to the wife's alimony and support claims. The husband, unlike the instant case, had the right to receive the trust income during his lifetime. The court held that such income was reachable under a claim for alimony. However, the court carefully distinguished the husband's right to the income from his non-existent access to the corpus of the trust fund:
In Storm v. Storm (1970), Wyo., 470 P.2d 367, the Supreme Court of Wyoming held that where a husband had an expectancy of inheriting a one-half (1/2) interest in his father's ranch if he survived until the trust holding the property ended, the wife was not entitled to an award based on such expectancy. We find the court's reasoning both logical and just:
The following is an excerpt from a Georgia Supreme Court syllabus opinion dealing with expectancies outside the present pecuniary estate of the divorced husband, (of course, in the instant case we are concerned with a future interest and not a mere expectancy, but we find the reasoning analogous):
Plaintiff cites McDaniel v. McDaniel (1964), 245 Ind. 551, 201 N.E.2d 215 for the proposition that property held in trust for the husband's benefit is not exempt from consideration on questions of alimony. The cited case is not on point. In McDaniel an action for divorce was brought by the husband, and the appellant-wife filed a cross-claim for divorce, alleging that she was entitled to alimony as part of a spendthrift trust which the husband had created in himself. The corpus of the trust fund was created from the balance paid in settlement for personal injuries suffered in an accident which occurred during the marriage. This Court was persuaded by the fact that the husband was constructively attempting to preclude his wife from reaching the trust res in the event of divorce:
The Supreme Court of Kansas has treated the question of whether a beneficiary's interest under a discretionary trust is subject to a claim for alimony:
Finally, in an action by a divorced wife brought against her husband in which she joined the trustee as a party defendant, the South Carolina Supreme Court stated:
We find that the weight of the best reasoned authority supports the position of the trial court in the case at bar. Therefore, we shall not disturb his judgment here.
As to whether the trial court erred in evaluating the defendant's stock in Loeb's, Loeb and Hene, Inc. at $70.00 per share, we find there was sufficient evidence before the court to support its finding as to the stock's value. The plaintiff's expert testified that the book value of the stock, after depreciation, was $244.14 per share. The defendant offered evidence that the stock had a fair market value of $36.45 per share. This Court cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in assigning such a value to the stock in question. The trial court has broad discretion in ascertaining the amount of property settlement. Ind. Ann. Stat. § 3-1217 (1968 Repl.); IC 1971, XX-X-XX-XX provides in pertinent part:
Considering the evidence that was before the trial court and observing that on cross-examination the plaintiff's expert admitted that the value of $244.14 did not reflect a true market value, this Court finds no abuse of trial court discretion upon this issue.
Contrary to plaintiff's contention, the lower court did not err in the amount it granted for child support. The court allowed $200.00 per month for support of the two minor children. The plaintiff's argument is that because the defendant held a remainder interest in the trust fund his assets were greater than the trial court had considered them to be, and, therefore, the child support award should have been greater. However, the plaintiff overlooks the fact that the defendant has no present possessory interest in the trust fund nor any present income interest from it. Further, it should be noted that the defendant's children are provided for by the trust agreement in that their remainder will vest if their father predeceases the settlor. The trial court had before it the statement of the defendant's financial position. Based on the evidence before the trial court, the child support award was adequate. The trial court has reached an award which it found to be just and proper taking into consideration the father's earnings and the station in life to which the children and parents were accustomed. It acted entirely in accordance with IC, 1971, XX-X-XX-XX; Ind. Ann. Stat. § 3-1219. We will not disturb its judgment here.
Plaintiff assigns error in that the trial court had waived and forgiven a deficit due under a support order pendente lite. The plaintiff mentions this assignment of error at page 40 of her brief, but fails to offer any cogent argument and cited authority upon this issue. In Hitch v. State (1972), Ind., 284 N.E.2d 783, 786, we said:
In Wright v. State (1958), 237 Ind. 593, 147 N.E.2d 551, this Court said:
We, therefore, do not reach an examination of plaintiff's argument and accordingly reject her unsupported contention.
For all of the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.
ARTERBURN, C.J., and DeBRULER, GIVAN and PRENTICE, JJ., concur.
[*]  This case was transferred and re-assigned to this office June 27, 1973.