Opinion ID: 2521363
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: the trial court properly applied the correct cut-off date and valued the division of property

Text: One of the assets the trial court divided was a Merrill Lynch Account. The trial court entered a qualified domestic relations order on this account awarding $112,404 to Joyce. On September 28, 2001, Larry filed a motion to clarify the division of the Merrill Lynch account to apply the percentage of ownership in this account, rather than the dollar amount, because of the sharp decline in the market value of the securities contained in the account. This sharp decline in market value resulted in Joyce's receiving the full amount of her share valued at June 5, 2000, values and Larry's absorbing the losses in the account since June 5, 2000. The trial court denied Larry's motion. This results in Joyce's receiving the sum of $112,404 and Larry's absorbing the market decline, which reduced his original share of $237,645 to his estimate share of $83,624. Larry maintains this does not result in a substantially equal division of this account or of the community property. The trial court ruled that the parties were bound by their stipulation to use the value on June 5, 2000. In Ross v. Ross, 117 Idaho 548, 789 P.2d 1139 (1990) the Court has stated that any fluctuation in value of marital assets is not a reason to modify the division. Larry correctly points out that since the cut-off date of June 5, 2000, the value of the Merrill Lynch account has diminished substantially in value and the full amount of that devaluation is absorbed by him. Had the economy been different, the value of the investment account might have increased to Larry's benefit. During the relevant time Larry remained in control of the account and to a degree the value was dependent upon his investment decisions. Had there been no division of property, his assets still would have been diminished due to stock market fluctuations and investment decisions. The trial court applied the correct cut-off date for property valuation.