Court Opinion

ID: 9707955
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:25:51.425475+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:40.553436
License: Public Domain

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE SEIDENFELD, dissenting: Because the evidence in the record does not support the judgment of the trial court, I would reverse and remand this cause for further proceedings. The trial court was faced with difficult problems in valuing the net worth of the husband’s farming operation. The only solid evidence of his assets and liabilities was a financial statement which listed farming assets at roughly $155,000 and farming liabilities at about $309,000. However, the husband also testified that he worked in partnership with his father on some land. He presented a list of farming equipment in which he had a one-half interest, but did not indicate the value of those items. No attempt was made by either party to value the husband’s partnership interest, which was apparently an informal agreement. The wife did not seek to rebut any of the husband’s valuation evidence, except to note that he recently bought a tractor which she “guessed” was worth $53,000. The majority does not disagree with the husband’s contention that he was awarded significantly more marital debts than assets, while the wife was given the marital home with $35,000 equity, a lot valued at $9,000, as well as other items. The majority concludes, however, that since the court referred to several of the factors listed in section 503 of the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and an equal division is not mandatory, the award was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. I agree with the majority that the court is not required to specifically value marital property if there is evidence of value in the record. I further agree that the division of marital property does not need to be equal, as a proper application of the 10 factors set forth in section 503 may often dictate an unequal division. However, I cannot affirm a property division where the record indicates that the award is highly disparate and there is insufficient evidence that the section 503 factors were applied to produce the disparity. See In re Marriage of Amato (1980), 80 Ill. App. 3d 395. While the distribution of marital property is a discretionary matter for the trial court, it is required to consider the factors enumerated in section 503. (In re Marriage of Thornton (1980), 89 Ill. App. 3d 1078, 1085.) Absent a finding of valuation by the trial court, the appellate court can only review the property award based on evidence of value presented by the parties. Since the division here is highly unequal, the award is sustainable only if the section 503 factors justify the inequality. See In re Marriage of McMahon (1980), 82 Ill. App. 3d 1126, 1139-40 (Craven, J., dissenting). I disagree with the standard of review adopted by the majority in its quotation from In re Marriage of Lee (1979), 78 Ill. App. 3d 1123, 1127. In my view, the passage cited from that case allows too much discretion to the trial court and may defeat the legislative objective of creating a more equitable scheme of property distribution. (See Kujawinski v. Kujawinski (1978), 71 Ill. 2d 563, 576.) In the case at bar, the only reference to the section 503(c) factors made by the trial court was the following: “As an equitable division of the property, is the basis for the award, taking into consideration all of the assets of the parties, the potential earning of the parties, the equities of the parties and the contributions of the parties, past, present and also as an award, reasonable award, in lieu of maintenance, giving consideration to the fact that both of the parties were obligated to support the children herein.” A recitation of certain relevant factors without stating how those factors support the unequal award gives little guidance to a reviewing court. The record does not support the conclusion that the factors mentioned by the trial court so favored the wife that the property award was just. The only nonmarital asset awarded was allocated to the wife, namely, the stock valued at $6,000. Certainly, the record reflects that the contribution of the husband was at least as substantial, if not more so, than the wife’s. She agreed that the husband worked 18 hours a day. The court’s statement that the marital home was awarded in lieu of maintenance overlooks the fact that the wife did not request maintenance and would not have been entitled to it on this record. It is true that the husband may have higher potential earnings than the wife; however, that factor alone cannot justify the lopsided property distribution. The uneven property distribution, as reflected by the valuation in the record, is not supported by section 503(c) of the Act. I would reverse and remand with directions to consider the nature of assets and liabilities in the division of marital property.