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Abood v. Abood9/2/2005
September 12, 2002. But the invoice date suggests that the invoice may not be for the tires and rims in dispute here. There was no indication that the tires and rims in question were in the same condition as the tires and rims documented in the invoice. Patrick offered no testimony about the invoice or the value of the rims and tires. Any value assigned to the tires and rims would be speculative.
A party who fails to produce sufficient evidence may not challenge the inadequacy of evidence on appeal. In Miles v. Miles, we held that when "neither party was able to produce documentation of the actual payments on the property, there is no reason to conclude that the superior court's finding [that the payments at issue held a de minimis value] was clearly erroneous." Patrick produced only an invoice that may not reflect the value of the disputed rims and tires. We therefore conclude that Patrick has not demonstrated that the superior court erred, or that any error harmed him here. We also note that the value was relatively small in comparison with the other assets at issue in this case.
G. The 2001 Income Tax Refund
Patrick and Kimberly separated on April 11, 2002. They made payments on their 2001 income tax liability from marital funds, and ultimately filed a joint income tax return in October 2002. After the separation but before filing the tax return, Patrick contributed post-separation funds to a personal SEP account. Although he made the contribution in 2002, he applied the deduction to the parties' 2001 tax liability. The IRS issued a tax refund of $8,753, which the superior court found to be Patrick's separate property.
Kimberly argues in her cross-appeal that the refund is the result of payments and deductions attributable to the parties, and that no one factor can be said to have caused the refund, which is therefore marital property. This may be true as a general proposition, but may not always be the case in the divorce context.
Because marital contributions were inadequate to eliminate liability, the parties still owed federal income tax at the time of separation. Patrick's efforts came after separation and supplemented the marital resources used to satisfy the tax obligation. The reduction in tax liability due to Patrick's SEP contribution eliminated the need for further marital payments and caused payments to exceed liability, resulting in the refund.
In these circumstances, we cannot say that the chronological causation methodology applied by the superior court was an abuse of its discretion.
We also note that Patrick's SEP contribution benefitted Kimberly by eliminating the marital tax liability. In dividing marital property, courts must consider expenditures of separate property to obtain and preserve marital property. Courts have discretion to credit the contributing spouse. Thus, even if the refund should have been characterized as marital property, the superior court could have properly credited Patrick with the refund in light of the benefit Kimberly received. That Kimberly did not reap the full benefit of this use of Patrick's property does not render the superior court's characterization so inequitable as to warrant reversal. The superior court did not err in characterizing the 2001 federal income tax refund as Patrick's separate property.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons we AFFIRM with respect to the settlement funds, the marital home, the Mercedes-Benz, the tires and rims, and the 2001 tax refund. We also AFFIRM the superior court's finding concerning Knik Sweeping.
MATTHEWS, Justice, with whom FABE, Justice, joins, concurring.
I write sepa
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