Opinion ID: 884056
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Dennis's Mountain Property

Text: Prior to the marriage Dennis contributed $8,000 toward the purchase of mountain property in the Crazy Mountains. He purchased the property in 1981 with a friend for $16,000 and owned the land free and clear before he and Martha were married. In 1992 Dennis and his friend divided the property and Dennis received $6,000 and half of the acreage. At the time of the dissolution hearing the property was valued at $21,500. The District Court made the following finding concerning the mountain property: While [Dennis] argues that [Martha] did nothing to increase the value of this property, it appears that [Dennis] did nothing either and that the increase is due simply to market factors. [Dennis] should be entitled to receive the first thousand dollars of equity in this property, and the difference between the market value of $21,500 and such $8,000 should be shared equally between the parties. Dennis argues that the entire value of the property should be retained by him as a separate premarital asset. He maintains that the District Court was correct in finding that the increase in value to the property was due simply to market factors and that Martha did nothing to contribute to the increase in the value of the land. Dennis further claims that he should receive credit for the $5,200 he deposited in the money market fund from the $6,000 he received when he and his friend divided the property. He argues that these are proceeds traceable to his premarital asset. Martha counters that the mountain property was part of the marital estate as she was listed as a joint owner on the deed to the land and notes that the property taxes for the land were paid out of the parties' joint money market account. In urging us to affirm the District Court Martha relies on Maedje to argue that her contributions as a homemaker should be considered, thus allowing her to receive a portion of the mountain property as part of the marital estate. We conclude that the District Court's finding that the increase in value to the property was due simply to market factors is supported by substantial evidence and is otherwise not clearly erroneous. Martha's contributions as a homemaker in the marriage did not contribute to the maintenance and appreciation of the mountain property. We distinguish our holding in Maedje by noting that in that case the district court specifically found that the spouse had contributed in some fashion to the maintenance and appreciation of [the] properties. Maedje, 868 P.2d at 584. The District Court should have awarded Dennis the entire value of the mountain property. However, we do not agree with Dennis that he should receive all of the $5,200 he deposited into the money market account when the property was divided in 1992. We earlier addressed the District Court's distribution of the money market fund and concluded that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in dividing the account evenly between the parties. We conclude that the District Court abused its discretion in dividing the difference between the present market value of the mountain property and its original purchase price ($21,500 minus $8,000) evenly between the parties. Dennis should receive credit for $21,500, representing the full value of the mountain property. We reverse the District Court on this issue and remand for further proceedings in this regard.