OPINION
{1 Petitioner Brenda Joy Olickan (Wife) appeals the decision of the trial court evaluating and dividing three Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) in a divorce action. On appeal, Wife raises three issues. First, she argues that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to recognize that the parties' retirement interests were commingled. 1 Second, she contends that the trial court abused its discretion by applying a coverture 2 fraction to divide two of the parties' IRA accounts. Finally, Wife argues that the trial court erred by denying her reasonable attorney fees. Consequently, she contends that she is entitled to reasonable attorney fees incurred at trial, as well as on appeal.
T2 On cross-appeal, Respondent Ronald Y. Olickan (Husband) raises two arguments. He first contends that the trial court erred by awarding Wife a portion of his Deferred Compensation Plan as part of the marital estate. Husband also argues that the trial court erred by considering his entire collection of Lenox porcelain figurines part of the marital estate. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
T3 Wife and Husband were married February 13, 1998. They have no children together. However, Husband adopted Wife's two minor children from a previous marriage.
¶4 The couple separated on or about December 15, 2002, and subsequently divorced. At the time of the divorce, Wife was fifty-four years old. She was employed as an office manager and supervisor in the Adult Probation and Parole Department. Her gross monthly income was $3896.71. Husband was fifty-seven years old at the time of the divorce. He was retired from Utah Power & Light Company (Utah Power) and its successor, PacifiCorp, where he was a construction supervisor in line work and substation construction. Husband began working for Utah Power in 1969 and took an early retirement package on March 1, 2001, as part of the company's workforce reduction plan. After retiring, he continued to consult with PacifiCorp. His gross monthly income from consulting was $5204.39.
5 Prior to his retirement, Husband participated in three retirement plans offered by his employer. Husband had a Basic Retirement Plan (BRP) and a Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP), as well as a 401(k) plan. The trial court found that both the BRP and the DCP were defined benefit plans and accordingly "had no relevant account balances prior to [their] conversion to a lump sum on March 1, 2001"-the date of Husband's retirement. The 401(k) was a defined contribution plan that involved "contributions from salary, employer matching contributions, and earnings on investments." 3
T7 In its findings, the trial court stated that it was applying the formula set forth in Woodward v. Woodward,
8 The trial court divided the 401(k) funds in the IRA account using a different formula. Because this account represented a defined contribution plan rather than a defined benefit plan, Husband received his premarital interest, plus appreciation on that amount.
T9 The trial court rejected Husband's contention that the funds in the DCP were entirely premarital. Rather, the court stated that "there needs to be some recognition that, even though the plan's benefit level was frozen under the DCP prior to marriage, the parties|'] work together during the years of the marriage allowed [Husband] to retire, and [Husband] was required to be an employee on the date of retirement" to qualify for the benefit. Therefore, the court stated that its decision to consider the entire DCP a marital asset was "an equitable adjustment for the time of [Wife's] contribution to the marriage."
10 The court also rejected Wife's claim that the BRP could be calculated "based on the amount that would have been distributed under the plan's benefit formula if [Husband] had been permitted to retire on February 18, 1993," because Husband would not yet have been eligible to retire on that date and therefore could not have received that amount. Additionally, the court found that "adopting that calculation would result in years of service for benefit acerual not being treated equally."
{11 At trial, Husband produced expert testimony by Roger Smith, a certified public accountant who performed forensic accounting services. Smith separated the marital and premarital portions of Husband's three accounts and conducted a retirement analysis on each account. He testified that he believed it would be possible to distinguish between the marital and post-marital interests, "particularly in the 401(k) balance."
12 Ultimately, the trial court found that Wife should be awarded one-half of the marital portion of the 401(k) account balance as of June 16, 2004. The court also found that Wife should be awarded one-half of the marital portion of the DCP account as of June 16, 2004. Finally, the court found that Wife should be awarded one-half of the marital portion of the BRP account balance as of June 16, 2004.
113 In addition to the issues involving Husband's retirement assets, the trial court determined the value of a collection of Lenox porcelain figurines. Husband testified that he began collecting the Lenox figurines in 1971 or 1972. He further testified that he
T14 Regarding attorney fees, the court stated that both parties had incurred substantial attorney fees. At the beginning of the fourth day of trial, the court found that Wife had incurred approximately $25,000 in fees and Husband had incurred attorney and expert fees in excess of $40,000. Noting the difficulty of the matter, as well as Husband's greater ability to pay and Wife's greater need, the court awarded attorney fees to Wife, but reduced the requested amount, awarding her $7500.
115 Wife's appeal and Husband's cross-appeal followed.
ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
116 Wife first argues that the trial court abused its discretion by rejecting her argument that the BRP and DCP funds in the retirement accounts were commingled. Second, Wife contends that the court abused its discretion by using a coverture fraction method of dividing the funds because it "resulted ... in a serious inequity." "A trial court has considerable discretion considering property [division] in a divorcee proceeding, thus its actions enjoy a presumption of validity." Elman v. Elman,
117 Third, Wife argues she is entitled to reasonable attorney fees for the trial below, as well as attorney fees on appeal. A trial court has the power to award attorney fees in divorce proceedings. See Rasband v. Rasband,
118 On cross-appeal, Husband raises two issues. 4 First, he argues that the trial court erred by treating his interest in the DCP as a marital asset. Second, he contends that the court erred in treating his entire collection of Lenox figurines as marital property. We review Husband's claims for abuse of discretion. See id. at 117.
ANALYSIS
I. The Trial Court's Division of Assets
A. Commingling
T19 On appeal, Wife first argues that the parties' retirement funds became commingled following marriage and that as a result, the trial court's use of coverture methodology to divide the assets in those accounts was an abuse of discretion. Wife contends that the "straightforward valuation approach" rejected by the trial court would have produced results that were "more aceu-rate and fair" than those resulting from the coverture model ultimately applied by the trial court. 5
T 20 Turning to Wife's first argument, we consider whether the parties' marital and
(1) the other spouse has by his or her efforts or expense contributed to the enhancement, maintenance, or protection of that property, thereby acquiring an equitable interest in it, or (2) the property has been consumed or its identity lost through commingling or exchanges or where the acquiring spouse has made a gift of an interest therein to the other spouse.
Mortensen v. Mortensen,
T21 There is nothing in the record to indicate-and Wife does not appear to argue-that she acquired an interest in Husband's accounts under the first factor, namely by contributing to "the enhancement, maintenance, or protection of [the] property." Id. Therefore, Wife's claim necessarily falls under the second factor-that Husband's premarital interests in the BRP and DCP plans lost their identity and became commingled when they were "converted from defined benefit plans, cashed out, and rolled over into two accounts." Similarly, Wife argues that Husband's 401(k) plan lost its separate identity when it was rolled over such that the "premarital [and] marital funds ... could not rationally be segregated without sheer speculation."
122 We disagree with Wife's contention. At trial, Wife did not controvert expert testimony that the marital and premarital interests were reasonably capable of being determined, or argue that it was inequitable for the trial court to divide the interests. See Dunn v. Dunn,
123 Dunn, however, is distinguishable from the instant matter. Here, Husband's expert, Smith testified that although premarital and marital funds were deposited together, it was still possible to trace and separately identify the funds-"particularly in the 401(k) balance." Hence, the identity of the separate funds was not lost and Wife's commingling argument fails.
1 24 We therefore conclude that the trial court acted within its discretion when it determined that the marital and premarital funds could be separately identified and awarded Wife one-half of the marital portion of those accounts.
B. The Trial Court's Application of a Coverture Fraction
125 Wife next argues that the trial court abused its discretion by utilizing a cov-erture fraction to distribute the IRA accounts.
6
Wife's argument rests on her contention that the formula used by the trial court is not applicable to defined benefit plans and that a coverture fraction should not have been used to identify and value marital from premarital interests where other credible evidence was available. Wife points out that Utah appellate courts have not decided this issue, but cites cases from
126 In Woodward v. Woodward,
127 Wife concedes that Woodward is the controlling case in Utah regarding how retirement assets are valued and divided, but attempts to distinguish the present case factually because "the overwhelming growth of [Husband's] retirement accounts ... [occurred] during the period of the parties' marriage." Presumably, this is because appreciation of the accounts was greater in the later years. Wife argues that the value of Husband's accounts should be ascertained as of 1993, when the parties married, and the balance exceeding that 1993 value should then be divided between the parties. Woodward, however, made no such distinction, and treats all years of a defined benefit plan as having equal value. See id. at 488 (holding that a fixed system of distribution is applicable "where no present value can be established") (citation omitted)). The trial court followed the Woodward formula, stating that "the decision to give equal credit for each year of [Husband's] service in the plans is consistent with the approach set forth in [Woodward ]." The court also reasoned that it was not able to apply "strict] Woodward formulas because the benefits were converted to lump sums before the end of the marriage." Finally, the court acknowledged that a significant portion of Husband's benefits accrued during the years the parties were married, and announced its intention to "make some equitable adjustments to recognize that." In so doing, the trial court was clearly acting within its discretion. See id. (holding that the method used to distribute retirement benefits was properly a matter within the trial court's discretion).
128 Contrary to Wife's argument, we determine that the trial court properly applied
II. Attorney Fees
129 Wife also argues that she is entitled to reasonable attorney fees for the trial proceedings. She contends the trial court abused its discretion in awarding her limited attorney fees without any reasonable justification.
130 "Both the decision to award attorney fees and the amount of such fees are within the trial court's sound discretion." Wilde v. Wilde,
131 In the present case, the trial court ordered Husband to pay $7500 of Wife's attorney fees. Wife relies on Bell for the proposition that a trial court's failure to make adequate findings supporting its attorney fees decision is an abuse of discretion. See
132 Wife also requests attorney fees on appeal. In divorce actions, we will generally award attorney fees on appeal to the prevailing party if the trial court awarded attorney fees and the receiving party prevails on the main issues on appeal. See Elman v. Elman,
III. Husband's Cross-Appeal
$33 On cross-appeal, Husband raises two main issues.
9
First, he contends
A. Husband's DCP Account
134 Husband first argues that the court's decision to apply Woodward to the DCP was error. Husband asserts that the DCP was an entirely premarital asset because benefits were frozen in 1990, prior to the parties' marriage. As a result, Husband argues, the court's decision to include part of the DCP in the marital estate was error and an abuse of discretion.
1385 At trial, the court found that the DCPs benefit level was frozen prior to the parties' marriage, although it continued to earn interest thereafter. Nonetheless, it rejected Husband's claim that the DCP "[was] entirely a premarital asset." Noting in particular the fact that "the parties['] work together during the years of marriage allowed [Husband] to retire," and explaining that "[Husband] was required to be an employee on the date of retirement in order to qualify for the benefit," the court stated that its decision to include the entire DCP as a marital asset "was an equitable adjustment for the time of [Wife's] contribution to the marriage."
186 We disagree with Husband's argument that the court's decision was error and/or an abuse of discretion. Rather, we determine that the court's findings with regard to its reason for considering the DCP part of the marital estate are sufficient to memorialize the cireumstances supporting the decision. See Bradford v. Bradford,
B. The Lenox Collection
187 Husband contends that the trial court also erred in including the entire collection of Lenox porcelain figurines in the marital estate. Husband argues that approximately $3120.35 in value of the collection was acquired prior to the parties' marriage or was inherited from Husband's mother. Therefore, he claims, the trial court's finding that the Lenox collection was entirely marital property produced an inequitable result for Husband. See Burge v. Facio,
138 Husband identified which of the Lenox items were gifted to his mother and inherited from her upon her death. Husband also identified which items in the collection he had purchased prior to the parties' marriage. At trial, Wife did not controvert Husband's evidence. Therefore, the trial court failed to "properly categorize the parties' property as part of the martial estate or as the separate property of one or the other." Burt v. Burt,
CONCLUSION
139 In sum, we determine that the trial court's finding that the TRA accounts could be separately identified was not an abuse of discretion and affirm the court's findings on that issue. For similar reasons, we also affirm the trial court's application of a modified Woodward approach to the valuation and division of Husband's retirement assets. See Woodward v. Woodward,
40 With regard to attorney fees, in reducing Wife's requested attorney fees, the trial court considered both Wife's need for assets and Husband's greater ability to pay, thereby meeting the requirements set forth in Bell. See Bell v. Bell,
141 Concerning Husband's cross-appeal, we ascertain that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it considered Husband's DCP a marital asset. Finally, we conclude that the trial court's failure to categorize part of the value of the Lenox collection as Husband's separate property was an abuse of discretion. See Burt,
1 42 Accordingly, we affirm.
T43 I CONCUR: CAROLYN B. MeHUGH, Judge.
{44 I CONCUR, EXCEPT FOR SECTION II, IN WHICH I CONCUR IN THE RESULT ONLY: GREGORY K. ORME, Judge.
Notes
. In her appellate brief, Wife uses the term "transmute" as a synonym for "commingle." However, Utah courts more commonly use the latter term. See, eg., Mortensen v. Mortensen,
. "Coverture" is an archaic term defined as "[the condition of being a married woman." Black's Law Dictionary 372 (Ith ed.1999). In divorce actions, the term is used as a method of differentiating between premarital and marital assets.
. A defined contribution plan is comprised of funds held in an account established by the employee through his employer. A defined
Mann v. Mann,
. Husband asserts other issues that we address briefly in footnote 9.
. The trial court found that adopting Wife's approach "would result in years of service for benefit accrual not being treated equally," in contravention of the formula enunciated by the supreme court in Woodward v. Woodward,
. Wife makes a somewhat different argument regarding the IRA account representing the 401(k) plan. The trial court accepted the testimony of Smith, wherein he identified the account value as of the date of marriage, applied a rate of return to that value, and segregated that amount from the remainder. These calculations included accounting for contributions to the plan. We see no abuse of discretion in the trial court's findings on the 401(k) plan and do not further address it.
. Wife's argument on this issue is weakened by the fact that at least three of the cases she cites to support her proposition that the coverture fraction was inapplicable to valuing defined benefit plans where future benefits are at stake that involved defined contribution plans, not defined benefit plans. See, Tanghe v. Tanghe,
. Contrary to Wife's argument on this issue, our research indicates that courts in other jurisdictions have utilized the coverture method in cases with facts similar to those of the instant case. See Faulkner v. Faulkner,
. Husband also raises several other issues on appeal. Husband argues that the award of alimony was inappropriate because it was "a disproportionate transfer of [Husband's] property to [Wife]." Trial courts are afforded considerable discretion in awarding alimony and we will not overturn an award absent a clear abuse of discretion. See Davis v. Davis,