Opinion ID: 884056
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Dennis's Separate Funds

Text: The parties agreed that Dennis brought $7,705 in separate funds into the marriage. Dennis argues that the District Court erred in not awarding him that amount as part of the property distribution. Even though the District Court ordered that the parties should equally divide the Franklin Money Market account, it did not specifically address the separate funds Dennis brought into the marriage. Martha claims that the money was placed into a joint money market account which they used as a general savings account. Dennis does not contest this allegation. Martha and Dennis placed the money received from the home equity loan into the account and paid for various housing projects out of the account. Martha placed money she received from her previous employer's profit sharing plan into the account and she and Dennis paid various bills out of the account, including income taxes, property taxes, and credit card debts. Martha contends that the funds Dennis brought into the marriage were commingled with her profit sharing funds and the home equity loan proceeds. She claims that the account was marital property and that the District Court correctly determined that it should be divided evenly between the parties. We have stated that under § 40-4-202, MCA, the district court is vested with broad discretion to distribute the marital estate in a manner which is equitable to each party according to the circumstances of the case. Smith, 891 P.2d at 525. Section 40-4-202, MCA, provides that in dividing marital property a court may equitably apportion the parties' property and assets belonging to either or both, however and whenever acquired. In distributing premarital property the court must consider the contributions of the other spouse, including: (a) the nonmonetary contribution of a homemaker; (b) the extent to which such contributions have facilitated the maintenance of this property; and (c) whether or not the property division serves as an alternative to maintenance arrangements. Section 40-4-202, MCA (1993). In determining that the money market fund should be evenly divided between the parties, the District Court found that each of the parties hereto has contributed to the fund. In addition to Martha's monetary contributions to the account, Martha testified that she did ninety-five percent of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry in the household, and was responsible for paying all of the bills during the marriage. Her contributions as a homemaker facilitated the maintenance of the account since the household services she provided would have otherwise been expenses of the marriage. We have held that [i]ncluding the premarital assets in the marital estate is not an abuse of discretion, nor does it result in substantial injustice. In re Marriage of Peterson (1989), 238 Mont. 470, 475, 778 P.2d 402, 405. We have also recently held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by including in the marital estate property which the husband had brought into the marriage. In re Marriage of Binsfield (1995), 269 Mont. 336, 343-44, 888 P.2d 889, 893. We conclude that the District Court's finding that the parties had each contributed over the years to the money market fund is supported by substantial evidence and is not otherwise clearly erroneous. Each party made monetary contributions to the account and Martha made nonmonetary contributions as a homemaker. The District Court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the funds from the account should be evenly split between the parties and we affirm the District Court on this issue.