AI Generated Opinion Summaries

Decision Information

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Facts

  • The case involves a divorce proceeding between Wife and Husband, who were married in 2003. During their marriage, Wife ran her own business, Angel Peak Bookkeeping and Tax Service, LLC, from their home, while Husband worked for El Paso Oil and Gas Company. Following an injury in 2015, Husband retired, and the couple began transferring his pension to an account managed by Angel Peak. In 2021, Husband filed for divorce, leading to a district court hearing that reviewed the couple's assets and issued an order on their division, which Wife appealed.

Procedural History

  • [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

  • Wife: Argued that the district court erred in its rulings on five assets, including the division of Husband's pension, allocation of debt on a time-share, entitlement to funds in a savings account, valuation of a silver dollar collection, and compensation for a vehicle and perishable items.
  • Husband: Contended that the district court's decisions regarding the division of assets and the characterization of certain properties and accounts were correct and should be upheld.

Legal Issues

  • Whether the district court erred in determining that one-half of Husband’s pension was his separate property.
  • Whether the debt or obligations on the couple’s time-share should have been allocated solely to Husband.
  • Whether Wife is entitled to half of the amount once held in Husband’s Wells Fargo savings account.
  • Whether the district court erred in valuing the couple’s silver dollar collection at $9,200 instead of $16,000 as claimed by Wife.
  • Whether Wife was entitled to monetary compensation equivalent to half the value of the couple’s Chevy Cobalt and perishable contents of the “prepping room.”

Disposition

  • The district court’s decision was affirmed on all counts.

Reasons

  • The Court of Appeals, with Judge Megan P. Duffy writing and Judges Jennifer L. Attrep and Gerald E. Baca concurring, provided the following reasons:
    Regarding the Retirement Savings: The court found no evidence of Husband's intent to transmute his pre-marriage pension into community property, affirming its status as his separate property (paras 5-13).
    Regarding the Time-share: The issue of debts on the time-share was not preserved for appeal, and the court declined to consider it (paras 14-15).
    Regarding the Savings Account: The court noted that Wife had not preserved the issue for appeal and had already received her share from the account, according to the district court's unchallenged findings (paras 16-17).
    Regarding the Silver Dollar Collection: The court deferred to the district court's credibility judgments and valuation of the collection (paras 18-19).
    Regarding the Chevy Cobalt and Prepping Room Contents: The court found that the district court had already awarded Wife the relief she sought for these assets and declined to address her arguments further due to lack of development and citation to the record (para 20).
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