Court Opinion

ID: 9744286
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:59:20.518108+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:48.230607
License: Public Domain

BAILEY, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
With the exception of Issue III, I concur with the majority opinion. However, I dissent from the affirmation of the property division at issue, because I cannot agree with the dissolution court's order that Husband's judgment of $10,752.13 is "payable without interest." (App.11.) Husband is entitled to post judgment interest on the equalization judgment awarded him (1) because post-judgment interest is mandated by statute and (2) an equal division of marital assets is mandated by statute, absent a specific reason for deviation.3
When property in a marital estate is divided pursuant to the parties' agreement and one party is ordered to pay the other, the order is a money judgment that accrues interest from the date that the judg*44ment was entered. Williamson v. Rutana, 736 N.E.2d 1247, 1249 (Ind.Ct.App.2000); Irvine v. Irvine, 685 N.E.2d 67, 71 (Ind.Ct.App.1997). Post-judgment interest is statutorily mandated for money judgments. Williamson, 786 N.E.2d at 1249 (citing Ind.Code § 24-4.6-1-101).
According to the court order here, Husband is not entitled to his money at a fixed time. This does not, however, vitiate Husband's entitlement to interest. Dependent upon the timing of a triggering event, Husband could be deprived of the use of his money for many years. For example, the child who will someday be emancipated is now only seven years old. The specific intent of the dissolution court was to divide the marital estate equally. No statutory ground to support a deviation from the presumptive equal division of marital assets was found by the trial court. Nevertheless, the practical effect of permitting one spouse to withhold an equalization judgment payment for many years, without interest, is to depreciate the value of the judgment awarded. In other words, depending upon the timing of the triggering event, Husband would receive somewhat less or much less than the value of one-half the marital estate. This is contrary to the trial court's intent, and contrary to statutory mandate. Therefore, I dissent.

. Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-5 governs the distribution of marital property and provides as follows:
The court shall presume that an equal division of the marital property between the parties is just and reasonable. However, this presumption may be rebutted by a party who presents relevant evidence, including evidence concerning the following factors, that an equal division would not be just and reasonable: ~
(1) The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the property, regardless of whether the contribution was income producing.
(2) The extent to which the property was acquired by each spouse:
(A) before the marriage; or
(B) through inheritance or gift.
(3) The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the disposition of the property is to become effective, including the desirability of awarding the family residence or the right to dwell in the family residence for such periods as the court considers just to the spouse having custody of any children.
(4) The conduct of the parties during the marriage as related to the disposition or dissipation of their property.
(5) The earnings or earning ability of the parties as related to:
(A) a final division of property; and
(B) a final determination of the property rights of the parties.