In re Marriage of Rasmussen
Michelle L. Rasmussen, Petitioner-Appellee/Cross-Appellant
Scott M. Rasmussen, Respondent-Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Attorney for Appellant/Cross-Appellee
Theodore R. Wonio
Attorney for Appellee/Cross-Appellant
Jodee D. Dixon
Bryan D. Swain
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Shelby County, Amy Zacharias, Judge. AFFIRMED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED ON CROSS-APPEAL. Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (7 pages)
Scott Rasmussen appeals, and Michelle Rasmussen cross-appeals, the property division in the decree dissolving their marriage. They each challenge the amount of the cash equalization payment. Scott argues the payment is too high because Michelle dissipated marital assets, while Michelle argues the payment is too low because of an excluded asset and errors in the court’s calculations. Scott also challenges the court’s decision to award an empty lot at Lake Panorama to Michelle. OPINION HOLDS: We decline to apply the dissipation doctrine to Michelle’s spending that occurred during the marriage, but we do subtract funds she used to pay off a marital debt from her liquidated 401(k) funds. We affirm the district court’s division of assets, with the addition of assigning Scott’s service truck to him in the amount of $30,000. Following our recalculation of the property award, we raise Scott’s equalization payment by $33,000. Lastly, we decline Michelle’s request for appellate attorney fees.
