In The Matter Of The Marriage Of Pierson

653 P.2d 1258 (Or. 1982)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

W and H were married for 24 years with their children grown and each in their early forties. W earns $30,000 per year, and H earns $0,000 as a teacher. Neither party seeks support. The parties have divided their personal property. They have agreed to bear their own attorney fees. The court was to equitably divide four items of real property. W has moved out the family home, and H remains. It now has a value of $90,000. When W moved out, she withdrew the family savings of $13,000, added $3,000 or $4,000 of her own and purchased a house on Kathy Street. This was done with the cooperation of husband. The Kathy Street residence has an equity valued at $24,310. W then purchased a condominium. She moved out of the Kathy Street house and into the condominium. The equity in the condominium is valued at $2,500. W's father died intestate in April 1975. The parties separated in August 1978. The father's estate was distributed in April 1979, one year before the filing of this proceeding in April 1980. W's inheritance is a plot of farmland. H evaluates W's equity in her share of the inheritance at $181,200; W evaluates it as $131,200. Neither previous court made a specific finding as to its value. The parties agreed that the Kathy Street house should be sold and the proceeds divided evenly between them. H agreed that W should receive the condominium. The parties disagreed as to the disposition of the property inherited by W. W contends that she was entitled to an award of one-half of the non-inherited property and that her inheritance should be awarded to her outside of the property division equation. H contends that the inheritance should be considered as part of the marital assets, one-half of which should be awarded to him. The trial court awarded the family home to H, ordered the Kathy Street residence sold and the proceeds divided evenly, and awarded the condominium and the inheritance to W. W contending that the trial court should have awarded equal shares in the 'marital assets,' exclusive of her inheritance. The Court of Appeals affirmed without opinion.