Opinion ID: 1818179
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The marital homestead

Text: In 1978, respondent acquired what would become the marital homestead for $153,000. Although the trial court acknowledged that the parties' antenuptial contract valued the homestead at the time of the marriage at $375,000, the trial court did not state whether it adopted that value. When the parties married, the homestead was subject to a $93,000 mortgage. During the marriage, the parties refinanced the homestead. At the time of the dissolution, the homestead was subject to a first mortgage with a balance of $138,000, a second mortgage with a balance of $44,000, and a home equity line of credit secured by a third mortgage with a balance of $99,000. Because the mortgage balances increased during the marriage, the trial court concluded there was no marital equity in the homestead. Although the trial court did not determine the exact value of the homestead at the time of the dissolution, the trial court found that it was worth more than $680,000 at dissolution. The trial court found that market forces caused the homestead's appreciation and there were no additions or other capital improvements during the marriage that would have increased the homestead's value. Because there was no marital equity in the homestead and no marital efforts contributed to the homestead's increased value, the trial court concluded that the homestead was entirely respondent's nonmarital property. The trial court found that neither party could afford to continue living in the homestead and ordered it be sold. The trial court ordered the proceeds of the sale be paid in the following order: (1) costs of sale; (2) all encumbrances presently of record; (3) to appellant in the amount of $803,376; and (4) all remaining proceeds to respondent.