Burgardt v. Burgardt, 304 Neb. 356

Harlan and Shirley Burgardt married in 1992; district court dissolved the marriage in 2017 and divided the marital estate.
Harlan testified he had a 401(k) valued at $130,000 at the time of marriage (contributions beginning ~1985); employer records for 1992 were unavailable.
In 2010 Harlan rolled the 401(k) into an IRA and used the funds for purchases (farm, farm improvements, equipment, and coins); the decree awarded Harlan 71 gold coins and set off $130,000 as the premarital portion of the 401(k).
After his father’s 2006 death Harlan testified he used a $60,000 inheritance credit toward purchasing the home farm; the decree set off $60,000 to Harlan as nonmarital inheritance.
The Court of Appeals reversed those set‑offs, holding Harlan’s uncorroborated testimony and lack of documentary proof defeated his claims; it ordered the amounts divided between the parties and adjusted tax liability.
The Nebraska Supreme Court granted further review and reversed the Court of Appeals, holding testimonial evidence may suffice and the trial court’s findings were not an abuse of discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether documentary evidence is required to prove nonmarital property	Harlan: credible testimony tracing assets to premarital/inheritance sources is sufficient	Shirley: lack of contemporaneous documentary proof means Harlan failed his burden	Trial testimony can establish nonmarital property; documentary proof is persuasive but not mandatory
Whether the premarital/nonmarital value must be proved ‘‘definitively’’	Harlan: value need only be shown by the greater weight of the evidence	Shirley/Ct. of Appeals: value must be conclusively/definitively shown with records	Value need only be established by the greater weight of the evidence, not conclusively; district court’s valuation was not an abuse of discretion

Brozek v. Brozek, 292 Neb. 681, 874 N.W.2d 17 (trial court may credit tracing testimony but husband must adequately trace premarital assets through marriage)
Osantowski v. Osantowski, 298 Neb. 339, 904 N.W.2d 251 (domestic relations appeals heard de novo on the record)
Dooling v. Dooling, 303 Neb. 494, 930 N.W.2d 481 (standards for abuse of discretion and de novo review in dissolution matters)
Rohde v. Rohde, 303 Neb. 85, 927 N.W.2d 37 (contributions to retirement accounts before marriage are not marital assets)