Richard A. Waisblum appeals from a judgment of dissolution of marriage. Appellant contests the division of the marital property.
Facts
The parties married on May 25, 1990. They separated during February 1993 for three months, with the final separation occurring on September 26,1994. The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage was filed on September 26, 1994. The marriage dissolved on October 31, 1996 and final judgment was entered on March 19, 1997. No children were bom of the marriage, although, Respondent’s minor daughter, Mindy, resided with the parties.
While the parties lived together, Respondent was employed full-time as a deputy clerk at the Buchanan County Courthousе. She earned a monthly gross salary of $1,652.00, and received monthly child support for Mindy in the sum of $565.98. Respondent also made $5.25 per hour Working a second job at Shop & Hop. Appellant sold health and life insurance for Reserve National. In 1996, Appellant had eight surgeries on his left eye. At the hearing, he indicatеd that he is now totally blind in the left eye. As a result, he testified that his commission income from insurance sales will decrease from the $34,000.00 he earned in 1995.
At the time of the marriage, Appellant owned a condominium which he was awarded in a previous divorce settlement. Title to the condominium remained in Appеllant’s separate name until June 1993, when Respondent’s name was added. The parties lived in the condominium from the date of their marriage until it was sold in August of 1993. The parties received approximately $9,900.00 in cash from the sale of the condominium, which was used towards the purchase of a $135,000.00 house at 4008 North 38th St., St. Josеph, Missouri. Appellant also contributed an additional amount of approximately $2,000.00 to the purchase of the house. Appellant testified that in his opinion the fair market value of the house is $145,000.00. Respondent listed the fair market value of the house at $165,000.00, based upon the testimony of Jeffrey King, an appraiser.
During 1992, Appellant ruptured his left Achilles tendon and was off work for approximately eight months. Appellant withdrew $25,000.00 from his retirement account to pay for family living expenses. This entire account was exhausted during the marriage. In June of 1993, both Appellant and Respondent signed a promissory note tо Appellant’s mother for a cash loan of $7,700.00. Appellant used some of his retirement funds and some of the proceeds of the loan from his mother to pay off credit card balances mainly incurred by Respondent during the marriage, totaling approximately $12,000.00. The rest of the loan from his mother was used to help the parties purchase the house. The loan was repaid with marital funds.
Prior to the marriage, Respondent received a $28,000.00 inheritance. Respondent paid off debt, purchased a new car, and purchased an unspecified amount of furnishings for the house at 4008 N. 38th St. Respondent also gave Appellant $1,000.00, pur
During the marriage, each of the parties maintained a separate cheeking account. Respondent used her separate checking account to pay her car and car insurance payments, to purchase clothing for herself and her daughter and for personal expenses for herself and her daughter. Respondent did not make any of the loan or mortgage payments on the condominium or the house. Nor did she pay for any utility, insurance, taxes or repairs for either residence. Appellant made all of the loan and mortgage payments and paid all the utility, insurance, taxes and repairs for both the condominium and the house. Appellant also paid the food bills, frequently cooked, and hired a cleaning lady.
The judgement entry on March 19, 1997, finds that Respondent’s inheritance and rеceived gifts had been transmuted into marital property, and also finds that Appellant’s retirement fund and equity from the condominium had been transmuted into marital property. The judgment entry finds the value of the house to be $165,000.00. Appellant was granted the house, which has approximately $125,747.00 left on the mortgage. Apрellant was also ordered to pay $12,022.50 to equalize the division of marital property.
Procedural History
Respondent filed her petition for dissolution of marriage on September 26,1994. Respondent’s petition for dissolution was heard on October 31, 1996. On March 19, 1997, a judgment entry for dissolution of the marriage was made. On April 4, 1997, a motion to amend or modify the judgment entry was filed by Appellant. On April 11, 1997, Respondent filed a motion for a new trial, or, in the alternative, motion to amend judgment entry for dissolution of marriage. On April 15, 1997, both Appellant and Respondent’s motions were denied. No changes were made to the judgment entry of March 19, 1997. This appeаl ensued.
Standard of Review
Divorce decree provisions will be affirmed unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, it erroneously declares the law, or it erroneously applies the law.
Crews v. Crews,
Division of Marital Property
In Appellant’s sole point of error, he alleges that the trial court’s equal division of the marital property is (1) against the weight of the evidence; (2) erroneously applies the law; and (3) is unjust because it failed to take into consideration the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of marital property and the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of the division of property as required by § 452.330. 1
Section 452.330.1 provides in pertinent part:
1. In a proceeding for dissolution of the marriage or legal separation ... the court shall set apart to each spouse his nonmari-tal property and shall divide the marital property in such proportions as the court deems just after considering all relevant factors including:
(1) The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective ...;
(2) The contribution of each sрouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of a spouse as homemaker;
(3) The value of the nonmarital property set apart to each spouse;
(4) The conduct of the parties during the marriage;
(5) Custodial arrangements for minor children.
Appellant contends that the trial court did not equitably divide the marital property because it did not properly consider factors (1) the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of division of the property, and (2) the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker. For the reasons discussed,
infra,
we find that this contention is not supported by the record. “Section 452.330.1 gives the trial court great flexibility and far-reaching power to divide the marital property so as to accommodate the needs of the parties upon dissolution and there is no formula respecting the weight to be given the relevant factors which a court may consider.”
Crews,
A. Contribution
Appellant claims the trial court could not have properly considered the factors enumerated in § 452.330.1 and have determined that an equal distribution of the marital property was fair and equitable, given the contributions of Appellant in comparison to the contributions of Respondent.
Specifically, Appellant contends that the trial court did not consider his contribution of funds from the sale of the condominium used to purchase the house and the exhaustion of his retirement fund during the marriage since the trial court determined that these funds had been transmuted into mаrital property. While Appellant agrees that the condominium was transmuted into marital property when Respondent’s name was added to the title three months before it was sold, Appellant argues that the fact of transmutation does not negate the trial court’s duty of considering the contribution of еach spouse to the acquisition of the marital property. When separate property is put into the joint names of both spouses it creates a presumption that the property has become marital property.
In re Marriage of Jennings,
Appellant cites
Gremaud,
In
In re Marriage of Smith,
In our case, Appellant held title to the condominium in his separate name until June 1993, when Respondent’s name was added. The condominium was later sold and the $9,900.00 received from the sale of the condominium was used to purchase the house. The trial court determined that the money used to purchase the house was marital property. This determination was not erroneous, for Appellant failed to rebut the marital property presumption with clear and convine-
Appellant also maintains that the court failed to take into consideratiоn that Respondent did not make any of the mortgage or bank payments and did not pay the insurance, taxes, utilities, or repairs on either the condominium or the house. Again, the record does not reflect any indication that the trial court failed to take these issues into consideration.
B. Economic Circumstances
Appellant further contends that the trial court did not properly consider the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of the property is to become effective as required by § 452.330. “Under § 452.330.1(1) the trial court must divide the marital property in such proportions as the court deems just after consideration of all relevant factors, including each spouse’s ‘economic circumstances’... at the time the division of property is to become effective ...”
Stratman v. Stratman,
Appellant argues that he no longer has his $25,000.00 retirement account; his eyesight has diminished which means he will not be able tо work as much as he did in the past; he no longer has the funds he repaid his mother for the $7,700.00 loan, nor the approximately $12,000.00 he used to pay off credit cards and other debts owed by Respondent. Respondent earns a monthly gross salary of $1,652.00, receives monthly child support in the sum of $565.98, and earns an additional $5.25 per hour working a second job. Appellant earned approximately $34,000.00 in 1995. As a result of his eye problems, Appellant’s earnings will be less, approximately $1,500.00 to $1,800.00 a month.
“The term ‘economic circumstances’ in Section 452.330.1 is broad enough to include the parties’ capacity to work and earn.”
In re Marriage of Gilmore,
Trial Court Error
Appellant argues that the division of property in the decree of dissolution is against the weight of the evidence. We agree. Although thе court did consider all of the required statutory factors, there is no formula respecting the weight to be given each factor.
Crews,
Conclusion
The judgment of the trial court ordering the Appellant to pay Respondent $12,022.50 is reversed. In all other respects the judgment is affirmed.
LAURA DENVIR STITH, P.J., and HANNA, J., concur.
Notes
. All statutory references are to RSMo 1994, unless otherwise noted.
