In re the Marriage of Matherly
Michael Steven Matherly for the Estate of Maribel Matherly, Petitioner-Appellant
Carl W. Matherly, Respondent-Appellee
Michael Steven Matherly As Trustee on behalf of the Maribel Matherly Trust, as amended, Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Carl W. Matherly, Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant
William W. Graham and Wesley T. Graham
Attorney for Appellee/Cross-Appellant
Shaun Thompson
Attorney for Appellee Mary Beth Slezak
Joseph G. Gamble and Tara J. Higgins
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Michael D. Huppert, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Mullins, J. (24 pages)
Former spouses appeal and cross-appeal the financial provisions of their dissolution-of-marriage decree. Trustee appeals the dismissal of claims against the husband relating to the wife’s trust. OPINION HOLDS: We find Carl Matherly created a resulting trust in favor of his daughter, MaryBeth Slezak, when he transferred the assets of her trust into an investment account without her consent. The resulting trust is not marital property and not subject to the court’s division of the marital estate. We find the trial court’s division of the marital estate equitable, taking into consideration the factors under Iowa Code section 598.21(5) (2016) and the circumstances in this case. We further find Steven Matherly’s claims against Carl relating to Maribel Matherly’s trust are barred under Iowa Code section 633A.4506. Based upon these findings, we affirm the trial court’s decision in its entirety. We decline to award appellate attorney fees. Costs on appeal are assessed one-third to Maribel’s estate, one-third to Carl, and one-third to the Maribel Matherly Trust.
