Goeden v. Goeden

1

2024 S.D. 51

REGINA GOEDEN, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. WAYNE G. GOEDEN, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 30321-a-PJD

Supreme Court of South Dakota

August 28, 2024

Considered on Briefs March 19, 2024

Appeal from the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit Minnehaha County, South Dakota the Honorable Douglas E Hoffman Judge

Jeffrey R. Beck Sioux Falls, South Dakota Attorney for defendant and appellant.

Scott D. Kading Laura T. Beatch of Kading, Kunstle & Goodhope LLP Sioux Falls, South Dakota Attorneys for plaintiff and appellee.

DEVANEY, JUSTICE

[¶1.] In this divorce proceeding, Wayne Goeden challenges the circuit court's determination that the parties' premarital agreement is void and unenforceable and further challenges the court's rulings related to the valuation and division of marital property. Wayne also claims the court erred in its treatment of his veterans' disability benefits and that it improperly granted Regina Goeden a divorce based on extreme cruelty. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

[¶2.] Regina and Wayne began dating in approximately 2013. Both had been married previously and have adult children from prior relationships. Regina was employed full time as an analyst at Edward Jones, and Wayne was employed full time as an IT project manager with Midco. At some point in the relationship, they began living together in a home owned by Wayne, and in 2015, they became engaged. However, during the summer of 2016, Wayne physically assaulted Regina, and she ended the relationship. Regina called law enforcement about the abuse after her daughter and son-in-law saw bruises on Regina's body, and Wayne was charged with domestic assault. Ultimately, Wayne pled guilty to disorderly conduct and completed a six-month anger management program.

[¶3.] In early 2017, Regina and Wayne reconciled, and Regina moved back into Wayne's home. They again became engaged, and at some point, the parties discussed the topic of executing a premarital agreement. According to Regina, Wayne did not mention wanting a premarital agreement before the first or current proposal. She claimed that he brought it up for the first time after they set a June 2017 wedding date. She further claimed that she felt pressured to agree because she was living with him, had sold her vehicle and furniture at Wayne's direction, and was dependent on him. Wayne, however, claimed that the premarital agreement was Regina's idea because he expressed reluctance to marry her in light of how his previous marriage had ended and because Regina had lied about him abusing her in 2016. It is undisputed that Wayne printed a premarital agreement (Agreement) template from the internet and that Regina signed it in front of a notary nine days before their June 22, 2017 wedding.

[¶4.] The Agreement provides that property owned solely by either party would be treated as separate property unless the property is shared property or there is proof of shared legal ownership. It further provides that jointly acquired or jointly held property, however or whenever acquired, will be treated as shared property. The Agreement states that upon dissolution of their marriage, neither party would make a claim to the other's retirement account and that Wayne would receive the $189,000 in equity he brought into the marriage and Regina would receive the $5,000 in cash she brought into the marriage. Thereafter, "all remaining property will be valued and divided equally regardless of either parties [sic] salary or contribution to the marriage."

[¶5.] The Agreement refers to and includes separate asset disclosure statements (Schedules A1 and A2) for Wayne and Regina. Under the provisions outlined above, the property in these schedules is deemed to be the separate property of each party. Regina testified that Wayne completed her schedule and listed $15,000 in premarital assets, representing her personal property and $5,000 cash on hand. But according to Regina, she did not have $5,000 cash on hand, and when she asked Wayne about this amount, he told her he included it to do her a favor. Wayne's schedule identified $189,000 in assets comprising his home equity, a pickup, a car, a boat, a motorcycle, a flatbed trailer, miscellaneous items, personal property, and cash on hand. Neither party's schedule identified their respective retirement accounts or balances. Wayne's schedule also did not disclose his Health Savings Account (HSA) or personal bank account. At the time of their marriage in June 2017, Wayne's retirement account was valued at approximately $95,500, and he had $8,710 in his HSA and $14,424 in his bank account. Regina's retirement account was valued at $14,256.

[¶6.] Shortly after the couple married, Wayne sold his home and placed the proceeds, $87,000, in his personal Wells Fargo account. Wayne and Regina purchased a new home and placed it in joint tenancy. They used $60,000 from Wayne's proceeds of the sale of his home for the down payment on the new home. In May 2018, Wayne added Regina to his personal Wells Fargo account as an authorized user, and she began depositing her paychecks into that account. The parties then used that account to pay for marital expenses, though Wayne argued that Regina spent more than she contributed and that he personally paid for a majority of the parties' expenses.

[¶7.] Wayne is a veteran, and after the marriage, he applied for and was approved to receive disability payments for hearing loss and inner ear dysfunction caused by his premarital military service. After approval, he received an initial lump-sum payment of $39,676.02 in December 2018. He deposited that payment in the joint Wells Fargo account. However, he claimed that he used $37,000 of that amount to finish a basement remodeling project in their home. He further claimed that he deposited his $3,100 monthly disability benefit in the joint Wells Fargo account, but he used a majority of this amount each month to make payments toward the principal on the couple's mortgage. He alleged that he made $53,250 in payments toward the mortgage principal using his disability benefits.

[¶8.] In February 2021, Wayne opened a new Wells Fargo account in his name only and transferred $18,000 from the joint account into this personal account. He claimed that he opened this new account because he was concerned with how Regina was spending money, including money that she was giving to her brother. According to Wayne, Regina's brother abused substances and Regina enabled him, which "caused an insurmountable obstacle in the marriage." After opening his separate account, Wayne began depositing his monthly disability benefits into this account; however, he continued to deposit his paychecks into the joint account.

[¶9.] In May 2021, Wayne and Regina began seeing a counselor. Wayne claimed that the counselor gave them specific issues to work on to improve their relationship, including better communication and trust, having sex more often, and Regina having better boundaries with her brother. Regina did not recall having a specific conversation with their counselor about sex; however, she claimed that if they did not have sex every other day, Wayne's "mood would not be good[.]" At trial, a recording of Wayne screaming at Regina on May 14, 2021, was played for the court. Regina testified that she recorded the exchange to show Wayne at a later time how he talks to her. On the recording, Wayne can be heard berating Regina, seemingly at the top of his lungs, for not having sex with him this week and that he "made crystal clear how this was unacceptable." As he repeated his scolding that "this is unacceptable," Regina can be heard quietly apologizing.

[¶10.] In September 2021, Wayne and Regina separated, and on September 27, Regina filed for divorce, alleging irreconcilable differences and extreme cruelty as grounds. Wayne answered and counterclaimed for a divorce on the same grounds. Wayne also sought enforcement of the Agreement as it relates to the division of the parties' property and debts.

[¶11.] Although Wayne and Regina separated, they continued to live together in the marital home. Shortly thereafter, Regina obtained a temporary protection order against Wayne based on allegations of domestic abuse and Wayne moved out of the house. The circuit court denied Regina a permanent protection order at a December 2021 hearing because of insufficient evidence to sustain a finding of domestic abuse, and after a hearing in January 2022, the court granted Wayne's motion for exclusive possession of the marital home. The court also ordered that he be responsible for all financial obligations, maintenance, and upkeep for the marital home. Regina then moved out of the home and lived with family until she obtained a rental home.

[¶12.] The circuit court held a three-day divorce trial in January 2023, during which Regina, her daughter, an appraiser, and Wayne testified. Following the trial, the court issued a memorandum decision and the parties submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The court thereafter issued findings of fact and conclusions of law, which incorporated its memorandum decision, and issued a judgment and decree of divorce.

[¶13.] In its decision, the circuit court made observations about Wayne's and Regina's personal characteristics and "found Regina to be the more credible witness" because her "demeanor and general testimony gave the [c]ourt confidence in her integrity as a witness[.]" The court therefore indicated that "to the extent that her version of an event varied from that given by Wayne, the [c]ourt accepts Regina's testimony as correct." The court noted an "area of divergent testimony" being "the genesis of the Prenuptial Agreement entered into evidence[...