Court Opinion

ID: 9523482
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:43:00.95553+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:06:07.337662
License: Public Domain

MINGE, Judge
(dissenting).
I concur in parts I and II of the opinion. I dissent from part III. I would hold that the per capita tribal payments received by appellant were nonmarital property. Minnesota recognizes that a gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance is nonmarital. See Minn.Stat, § 518.54, subd. 5(a) (2004). Although the narrow issue presented in part *371III of this case is a matter of first impression, at least one reported decision addresses the general subject. See Sheppard v. Sheppard, 104 Idaho 1, 655 P.2d 895 (1982). In Sheppard, the Idaho court found that certain assets held in the name of an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock tribe were community property for purposes of a marriage dissolution. Id. at 918. However, that court’s discussion implies that if the assets or their source had originally been solely from the tribe, they may not have qualified as community property. See id. at 918-19.
In the case before us, the distributions are from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, a governmental entity. These distributions are not ordinary dividends from a nonmarital business investment or a distribution to a beneficiary from an established trust. Instead, they are being paid to appellant as an enrolled member of this particular tribal government. The payments to appellant are not guaranteed. They are determined each year by the tribal government. The amount paid is akin to a lump-sum distribution of tribal government assets which would be parallel to the principle distribution of a gift under Minnesota law. I would conclude that the clearly identified proceeds from tribal per capita distributions to appellant are non-marital property and should be treated accordingly in this dissolution proceeding.
Given my conclusion that the application of Minnesota law to this case would result in the classification of the distributions as nonmarital property, I would not reach the question of any inconsistency between this state’s law and the tribal provision in question.
As has been observed, the case before us is apparently a matter of first impression. One would expect that the parties would notify the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community of the proceeding and that when a provision of its code is in question, the Community would have had an opportunity to make an appearance in this case. The record does not disclose any such notification or appearance.