Opinion ID: 1296720
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Pokey Circle Property

Text: C.B. contends that the trial court, without any explanation, designated the Pokey Circle property as marital in nature. Separate property becomes marital only upon a showing that the parties intended to treat the property as marital. Chotiner, 829 P.2d at 832. The proper standards for determining whether real property should be characterized as marital are set forth in such cases as Chotiner and McDaniel v. McDaniel, 829 P.2d 303 (Alaska 1992). The relevant factors include: (1) the use of property as the parties' personal residence, and (2) the ongoing maintenance and managing of the property by both parties, McDaniel, 829 P.2d at 306 (citing Burgess v. Burgess, 710 P.2d 417, 420 (Alaska 1985)), as well as (3) placing the title of the property in joint ownership and (4) using the credit of the non-titled owner to improve the property. Chotiner, 829 P.2d at 833. C.B. maintains that Vicki never lived in the Pokey Circle residence nor contributed to its maintenance and management, that rents were sufficient to cover all expenses, that there is no evidence of an intent to treat the property as marital, and that it therefore should have been treated as separate property. Vicki points to contrary evidence in the record. The loan documentation from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Pokey Circle refinancing shows that the property was titled in the names of both parties and both were sellers, jointly liable on the loan. See, e.g., Rhodes v. Rhodes, 867 P.2d 802, 805 (Alaska 1994) (co-signing of loan and assumption of joint liability for its repayment are indicative of intent to treat property as marital). The rental income was deposited into the marital checking account, and all expenses associated with the property were paid from that account. While the rental income covered most of the expenses, for at least six to eight months during the marriage the property was vacant. Thus, Vicki maintains that she assumed a financial risk on the refinancing and that she contributed to mortgage and maintenance payments by depositing her income into the marital account from which these expenses were paid. Because the trial court did not make any finding regarding the parties' intentions to treat Pokey Circle as marital property, we remand for further findings on this issue.