Court Opinion

ID: 9673573
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:14:44.196403+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:22.853304
License: Public Domain

SNYDER, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority opinion which affirms the trial court’s award of the marital residence to the parties as tenants in common.
The trial court’s marriage dissolution decree should completely sever all unity of title in, and possession of, the parties’ property except in the unusual situation in which the economics involved call for some sort of common ownership. Wilhoit v. Wilhoit, 599 S.W.2d 74, 80[12] (Mo.App.1980); Hopkins v. Hopkins, 597 S.W.2d 702, 706 (Mo.App.1980); In re Marriage of Crewse, 593 S.W.2d 265, 266 (Mo.App.1980); Terrell v. Terrell, 582 S.W.2d 720, 722 n. 1 (Mo.App.1979); Corder v. Corder, 546 S.W.2d 798, 805[10, 11] (Mo.App.1977); Davis v. Davis, 544 S.W.2d 259, 264-265[7-9] (Mo.App.1976). If the trial court does award property to the parties as tenants in common, the court should state specifically the reasons for resorting to the unusual award. Wilhoit v. Wilhoit, supra; Hopkins v. Hopkins, supra; In re Marriage of Crewse, supra; Terrell v. Terrell, supra; Corder v. Corder, supra.
I believe the cited cases control and that there is good reason for ruling that, absent unusual circumstances, a marriage dissolution decree should sever all unity of title and possession of the parties’ real property.
The majority opinion attempts to distinguish Davis v. Davis, supra by interpreting the language in Davis as suggesting real property should not be awarded to the parties as tenants in common if it is susceptible to division in kind. Admittedly, the real property in the case under review is not susceptible to division in kind. Actually, however, Davis says: “[A] division which leaves the parties as tenants in common of personal property susceptible to division in kind should be avoided .... ” Davis, supra at 264[7]. There is a question whether the first sentence of the quoted paragraph is meant to apply to real property. The Davis trial court goes on to say that, “Although the resort to such device with respect to real estate probably should not be absolutely precluded, again a tenancy in common solution should be reserved for the unusual situation where the economics involved call for such solution.” Davis, supra at 264[7].
The trial court here has given no reason for its award of the marital home to the parties as tenants in common. The wife has suggested that the trial court provided for tenancy in common and a six month prohibition against partition because interest rates were high and the housing market depressed at the time of the dissolution decree; that the trial court was attempting to postpone the sale of the real property to produce a more advantageous sale price. But this reason appears only in the wife’s brief, not in the trial court’s judgment. Further, dissolution decrees should not be based on speculation concerning the future state of the real estate or money markets.
The trial court gave no reason, as required by law, for its unusual award of the marital residence to the parties as tenants in common. Wilhoit v. Wilhoit, supra; Hopkins v. Hopkins, supra; In re Marriage of Crewse, supra; Terrell v. Terrell, supra; Corder v. Corder, supra.
1 concur in the majority opinion except for its affirmance of that part of the decree which awards the real property to the parties as tenants in common. As to the real property award, I respectfully dissent.