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CourtListener opinion 2818524

Date unknown · US

Extracted case name
R.R.F. v. L.L.F
Extracted reporter citation
920 N.E.2d 688
Docket / number
25A05-1407-DR-344 v
QDRO relevance 5/5Retirement relevance 5/5Family-law relevance 5/5gold label pending
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Machine-draft public headnote: CourtListener opinion 2818524 is included in the LexyCorpus QDRO sample set as a public CourtListener opinion with relevance to pension / defined benefit issues. The current annotation is conservative: it identifies source provenance, relevance signals, and evidence quotes for attorney/agent retrieval. It is not a Willie-approved legal headnote yet.

Retrieval annotation

Draft retrieval summary: this opinion has QDRO relevance score 5/5, retirement-division score 5/5, and family-law score 5/5. Use the quoted text and full opinion below before relying on the case.

Category: pension / defined benefit issues

Evidence quotes

QDRO

dered in the division of the marital estate. Austin is primarily responsible for these loans and is current in the loan obligations. Therefore, the loans have not been considered. The Court is directing that [Husband's] pension would be divided by way of Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and therefore the value is not included in the equalization calculation. (4) MARITAL RESIDENCE: That [Husband] shall have sole and exclusive ownership of the marital residence … and shall be responsible for and shall hold [Wife] harmless for all obligations associated with the marital residence. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decisi

retirement benefits

in installments, that is just and proper; (3) ordering the sale of the property under such conditions as the court prescribes and dividing the proceeds of the sale; or (4) ordering the distribution of benefits described in IC 31-9-2- 98(b)(2) [pension or retirement benefits] or IC 31-9-2-98(b)(3) [disposable retired or retainer pay] that are payable after the dissolution of marriage, by setting aside to either of the parties a percentage of those payments either by assignment or in kind at the time of receipt. And Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-5 provides, The court shall presume that an equal division of the marital pro

pension

tin's student loans should be considered in the division of the marital estate. Austin is primarily responsible for these loans and is current in the loan obligations. Therefore, the loans have not been considered. The Court is directing that [Husband's] pension would be divided by way of Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and therefore the value is not included in the equalization calculation. (4) MARITAL RESIDENCE: That [Husband] shall have sole and exclusive ownership of the marital residence … and shall be responsible for and shall hold [Wife] harmless for all obligations associated with the marit

401(k)

ipates that the refinancing will be needed for the equalization payment and the Court anticipates that will all be accomplished within sixty (60) days of today's date. (5) RETIREMENT/BENEFIT: That [Wife] shall be the sole and exclusive owner of [Wife's] 401(k) with the value of $10,902.27. That [Husband] shall be the sole and exclusive owner of [Husband's] General Motor[s] Profit Sharing Plan with the value of $2,629.81. General Motor[s] Hourly Rate Employee's Pension Plan [Wife] shall be awarded 50% of [Husband's] vested General Motor[s] Hourly Rate Employee's Pension Plan ("the Plan") as of September

Source and provenance

Source type
courtlistener_qdro_opinion_full_text
Permissions posture
public
Generated status
machine draft public v0
Review status
gold label pending
Jurisdiction metadata
US
Deterministic extraction
reporter: 920 N.E.2d 688 · docket: 25A05-1407-DR-344 v
Generated at
May 14, 2026

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Deterministic links based on shared title/citation terms and QDRO / retirement / family-law retrieval scores.

Clean opinion text

MEMORANDUM DECISION
 Jul 20 2015, 8:40 am
 Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this
 Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as
 precedent or cited before any court except for the
 purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata,
 collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

 ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
 Brent R. Dechert Mark Leeman
 Dechert Law Office Leeman Law Offices
 Kokomo, Indiana Logansport, Indiana

 IN THE
 COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

 Raymond D. White, July 20, 2015

 Appellant-Respondent, Court of Appeals Case No.
 25A05-1407-DR-344
 v. Appeal from the Fulton Circuit
 Court

 Yvonne R. White, The Honorable A. Christopher Lee,
 Appellee-Petitioner Judge

 Case No. 25C01-1109-DR-609

 Crone, Judge.

 Case Summary
[1] Raymond White ("Husband") appeals the trial court's decree dissolving his

 marriage to Yvonne White ("Wife"). Husband contends that the trial court

 abused its discretion in (1) excluding his son's student loans, on which he

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 1 of 16
 cosigned during the marriage, from the marital estate; (2) dividing the marital

 estate; and (3) offsetting some of his expenses by denying Wife's request for

 attorney's fees. Wife asks us to remand for a determination of whether an

 award of appellate attorney's fees is appropriate. We conclude that the trial

 court abused its discretion only in excluding the student loans from the marital

 estate. Therefore, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with

 instructions to (1) include the student loans in the marital estate and divide that

 liability accordingly, and (2) determine whether an award of appellate

 attorney's fees to Wife is appropriate.

 Facts and Procedural History
[2] Husband and Wife were married in 1978 and had two sons, Austin and

 Houston, who were adults at the time of the dissolution hearing. Wife

 petitioned to dissolve the marriage in September 2011. Later that month, the

 trial court entered a provisional order that, among other things, restrained

 Husband and Wife from having contact with each other and from "transferring,

 concealing, or otherwise disposing of any assets of the marriage" without prior

 consent or court order; awarded Wife "sole and exclusive use of the marital

 residence," with Husband to be responsible for the mortgage; awarded Wife

 "sole and exclusive use" of a Cadillac, with Wife to be responsible "for all

 obligations thereon"; and reserved the issue of attorney fees for the final

 hearing. Appellant's App. at 19, 20. The trial court held the final hearing on

 December 18, 2013, and continued it to March 19, 2014. In the interim, each

 party filed a contempt motion against the other. Wife alleged that Husband

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 2 of 16
 had entered the marital residence in violation of a court order and also violated

 a no-contact order, and Husband alleged that Wife had removed property from

 the residence in violation of the provisional order.

[3] On June 26, 2014, the trial court entered a dissolution decree that reads in

 relevant part as follows:

 (3) ASSETS & DEBTS
 The parties largely agree on the division of assets and debts as well as
 the values to be assigned to the assets and the amounts owed on the
 debts. (see Petitioner's Exhibit 1 and Respondent's Exhibit C). The
 Court adopts and incorporates Attachment "A" into this decree. The
 Court awards the assets designated in "A" to the party reflected on the
 attachment. Likewise, the Court directs that each party shall be
 responsible for and hold the other harmless upon the debts assigned in
 "A".

 The Court finds that "[Husband's] profit sharing plan" … is not an
 asset of the marriage because it was earned by [Husband] after the
 separation.

 The Court removed any values assigned to household items for
 reasons set forth in paragraph 6 below.

 The Court rejects [Husband's] argument that Austin's student loans
 should be considered in the division of the marital estate. Austin is
 primarily responsible for these loans and is current in the loan
 obligations. Therefore, the loans have not been considered.

 The Court is directing that [Husband's] pension would be divided by
 way of Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and therefore the
 value is not included in the equalization calculation.

 (4) MARITAL RESIDENCE:
 That [Husband] shall have sole and exclusive ownership of the marital
 residence … and shall be responsible for and shall hold [Wife]
 harmless for all obligations associated with the marital residence.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 3 of 16
 [Husband] shall be obligated to refinance the first mortgage to remove
 [Wife's] name from the debt obligation.… The Court anticipates that
 the refinancing will be needed for the equalization payment and the
 Court anticipates that will all be accomplished within sixty (60) days of
 today's date.

 (5) RETIREMENT/BENEFIT:
 That [Wife] shall be the sole and exclusive owner of [Wife's] 401(k)
 with the value of $10,902.27.

 That [Husband] shall be the sole and exclusive owner of [Husband's]
 General Motor[s] Profit Sharing Plan with the value of $2,629.81.

 General Motor[s] Hourly Rate Employee's Pension Plan

 [Wife] shall be awarded 50% of [Husband's] vested General Motor[s]
 Hourly Rate Employee's Pension Plan ("the Plan") as of September
 8th, 2011.

 ….

 (6) PERSONAL PROPERTY:
 The parties have largely divided their personal property so that each
 shall be the sole and exclusive owner of the items of personal property
 currently in their possession or under their control without claim of the
 other party except for the following contested items:

 • Depression glass – [Wife] shall be the sole and exclusive owner of the
 depression glass with the exception that there are certain items of glass
 or flatware that came from [Husband's] family and those items should
 be given to [Husband].

 • Corvette – [Wife] shall be the sole an[d] exclusive owner of
 [C]orvette at a value of $5,000.…

 • [Husband's] rings – That [Wife] shall provide [Husband] with his
 wedding ring and class ring if the same are in her possession.…

 [Husband] submitted a detailed property list. It is unclear what items
 he actually has or doesn't have and the values associated with these

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 4 of 16
 items. There are a number of items that went missing as the adult sons
 became intermingled in this dissolution. The Court has not included
 values of various household items given that the evidence was so
 ambiguous.

 (7) OTHER DEBTS/ASSETS:
 Other than the assets and debts specifically mentioned herein each
 party shall be sole and exclusive owner of the assets currently in their
 possession without claim of the other party. Similarly, each party shall
 be responsible for any debts that they have incurred solely in their
 name or since the separation.…

 (8) EQUALIZATION:
 In order to equalize the distribution [Husband] shall pay [Wife]
 Seventy Nine Thousand Four Hundred Eighty Nine Dollars and Sixty
 Four Cents ($79,489.64), all to be paid within sixty (60) days after
 which the unpaid balance shall be reduced to a judgment to accrue
 interest at the legal rate. The Court has varied slightly from an equal
 division based on the disparity of income. As such, the Court awards
 [Wife] Fifty Five Percent (55%) of the marital estate and [Husband]
 Forty Five Percent (45%) of the marital estate. The percentage
 calculation does not include [Husband's] pension which has been
 divided equally by way of QDRO in paragraph 5.

 (9) ATTORNEY FEES: Each party shall be responsible for their [sic]
 own attorney fees. The Court would normally award attorney fees in
 this circumstance to [Wife]. The Court finds that [Husband]
 contributed to a number of provisional expenses that were [Wife's]
 responsibility and should be given some credit for contribution to these
 expenses. Rather than subtract those out from the overall equalization
 and entering an award of attorney fees, the Court determines that the
 same, or approximately the same, result is accomplished by simply not
 awarding attorney fees.

 (10) CONTEMPT: The Court denies any request for a finding of
 contempt.
Id. at 66-70.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 5 of 16
 [4] The decree includes a memorandum that states in pertinent part, "Both parties,

 by their actions, contributed to length, expense, and divisiveness of this

 dissolution of marriage. Neither party acted in good faith with each other and

 neither was particularly candid with this Court." Id. at 71. The

 aforementioned Attachment "A" lists certain assets and liabilities, such as the

 marital residence, vehicles, a personal injury settlement, bank accounts, home

 mortgage debt, Wife's student loan debt, and credit card debts, as well as their

 value. The value of "Household Furniture etc." is listed as "In Kind." Id. at

 72. Husband's net worth is calculated at $179,519.17 and Wife's at $42,768.67,

 for a total net worth of $222,287.84. With the $79,489.64 equalization

 payment, Husband ended up with $100,029.53 and Wife with $122,258.31.

[5] Husband now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

 Discussion and Decision
[6] Husband challenges several aspects of the dissolution decree. The trial court

 entered findings of fact and conclusions thereon sua sponte. "Sua sponte

 findings control only as to the issues they cover, and a general judgment will

 control as to the issues upon which there are no findings. We will affirm a

 general judgment entered with findings if it can be sustained on any legal theory

 supported by the evidence." Hurt v. Hurt, 920 N.E.2d 688, 691 (Ind. Ct. App.

 2010) (citation omitted). We "shall not set aside the findings or judgment

 unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the

 trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses." Ind. Trial Rule 52(A).

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 6 of 16
 A decision is clearly erroneous if it is clearly against the logic and
 effect of the facts and circumstances before the dissolution court, or if a
 review of the record leaves this court with a firm conviction that a
 mistake has been made. In making this determination, we will not
 weigh the evidence or make credibility determinations, and we will
 only consider the evidence favorable to the judgment and reasonable
 inferences drawn therefrom.
 R.R.F. v. L.L.F., 956 N.E.2d 1135, 1139 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (citation omitted).

 "Findings are clearly erroneous if there are no facts in the record to support

 them either directly or by inference, and a judgment is clearly erroneous if the

 wrong legal standard is applied to properly found facts." Crider v. Crider, 26

 N.E.3d 1045, 1047 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015). "[W]e may look both to other

 findings and beyond the findings to the evidence of record to determine if the

 result is against the facts and circumstances before the court." Stone v. Stone,

 991 N.E.2d 992, 998 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013), aff'd on reh'g, 4 N.E.3d 666.

 Section 1 – The trial court abused its discretion in excluding
 Austin's student loans from the marital estate.
[7] We first address Husband's contention that the trial court erred in excluding

 Austin's student loans, on which he cosigned during the marriage, from the

 marital estate. "The disposition of marital assets is within the sound discretion

 of the trial court." Leever v. Leever, 919 N.E.2d 118, 124 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

 "An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court's decision is clearly against

 the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court. The court

 also abuses its discretion when it misinterprets or misapplies the law." Bowles v.

 Bowles, 721 N.E.2d 1247, 1249 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999) (citation omitted).

 "Although a different conclusion might be reached in light of the facts and

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 7 of 16
 circumstances, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court."

 Eye v. Eye, 849 N.E.2d 698, 701 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

[8] "The division of marital property in Indiana is a two-step process. The trial

 court must first determine what property must be included in the marital

 estate." Leever, 919 N.E.2d at 124 (citation omitted). Indiana Code Section 31-

 15-7-4(a) provides that "the court shall divide the property of the parties,

 whether: (1) owned by either spouse before the marriage; (2) acquired by either

 spouse in his or her own right: (A) after the marriage; and (B) before final

 separation of the parties; or (3) acquired by their joint efforts." "After

 determining what constitutes marital property, the trial court must then divide

 the marital property under the presumption that an equal split is just and

 reasonable." Leever, 919 N.E.2d at 124 (citing Ind. Code § 31-15-7-5).

 The marital property to be divided includes both assets and liabilities.
 In a dissolution proceeding, the trial court is mandated, by statute and
 case law, to divide the assets and liabilities of the parties to the
 proceeding in which they have a vested present interest. The term
 "vest" generally means either vesting in possession or vesting in
 interest. Vesting in possession connotes an immediate existing right of
 present enjoyment, while vesting in interest implies a presently fixed
 right to future enjoyment.
 Id. (citations omitted).

[9] Husband cites Luttrell v. Luttrell, 994 N.E.2d 298 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013), trans.

 denied (2014), in which the husband argued that the trial court erred in

 concluding that the children's student loans, on which he and/or his wife had

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 8 of 16
 cosigned, "were not debts of the marriage subject to division." Id. at 303. The

 Luttrell court agreed:

 While the children have not defaulted on either loan and so neither
 [husband] nor [wife] has been called to pay on the loans, the question
 is only who will pay the loan, not whether [husband] and [wife] might
 be liable. In essence, we believe that the Luttrells' liability for the
 loans has "vested" for our purposes here, and thus the loans need to be
 considered by the trial court. While it is possible that neither
 [husband] nor [wife] will be called upon to make good on their
 promise to repay the loans, at the same time, their names cannot be
 removed from the loans. If one of the children defaults, the co-signers
 will be liable on the debt.
 Id. at 303-04 (citation to Leever, 919 N.E.2d at 124, omitted).

[10] Likewise here, although Austin testified that he has not defaulted on the loans,

 and it is possible that Husband will not be called on to repay them, Husband

 has thus far been unable to remove his name from the loans and will be liable

 on the debt if Austin defaults. 1 Therefore, we conclude that the trial court

 abused its discretion in excluding the student loans from the marital estate. We

 reverse and remand with instructions for the trial court to include the loans in

 1
 Wife contends that Husband "invited error on this issue by repeatedly denying the validity of his signature
 on his son's student loan debt. He cannot now fault the trial court from excluding the debt as a debt of the
 marriage." Appellee's Br. at 18-19. We disagree. Unless and until Husband's name is removed from the
 loans, he will be liable on the debt if Austin defaults.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 9 of 16
 the marital estate and to exercise its discretion in dividing the liability between

 the parties. 2

 Section 2 – The trial court did not abuse its discretion in
 dividing the marital estate.
[11] Husband also asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in dividing the

 marital estate. Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-4 states in pertinent part,

 (b) The court shall divide the property in a just and reasonable manner
 by:
 (1) division of the property in kind;
 (2) setting the property or parts of the property over to one (1)
 of the spouses and requiring either spouse to pay an amount,
 either in gross or in installments, that is just and proper;
 (3) ordering the sale of the property under such conditions as
 the court prescribes and dividing the proceeds of the sale; or
 (4) ordering the distribution of benefits described in IC 31-9-2-
 98(b)(2) [pension or retirement benefits] or IC 31-9-2-98(b)(3)
 [disposable retired or retainer pay] that are payable after the
 dissolution of marriage, by setting aside to either of the parties a
 percentage of those payments either by assignment or in kind at
 the time of receipt.
 And Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-5 provides,

 The court shall presume that an equal division of the marital property
 between the parties is just and reasonable. However, this presumption
 may be rebutted by a party who presents relevant evidence, including

 2
 The trial court may value marital property "as of ‘any date between the date of filing the dissolution petition
 and the date of the hearing.'" Birkhimer v. Birkhimer, 981 N.E.2d 111, 119 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (quoting
 Quillen v. Quillen, 671 N.E.2d 98, 102 (Ind. 1996)).

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 10 of 16
 evidence concerning the following factors, that an equal division
 would not be just and reasonable:
 (1) The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the
 property, regardless of whether the contribution was income
 producing.
 (2) The extent to which the property was acquired by each
 spouse:
 (A) before the marriage; or
 (B) through inheritance or gift.
 (3) The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the
 disposition of the property is to become effective, including the
 desirability of awarding the family residence or the right to
 dwell in the family residence for such periods as the court
 considers just to the spouse having custody of any children.
 (4) The conduct of the parties during the marriage as related to
 the disposition or dissipation of their property.
 (5) The earnings or earning ability of the parties as related to:
 (A) a final division of property; and
 (B) a final determination of the property rights of the
 parties.
[12] "When a party challenges the trial court's division of marital property, he must

 overcome a strong presumption that the court considered and complied with

 the applicable statute, and that presumption is one of the strongest

 presumptions applicable to our consideration on appeal." In re Marriage of

 Bartley, 712 N.E.2d 537, 542 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). The trial court must

 consider all the factors listed in Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-5, but it need not

 "explicitly address" each of them in the decree. Eye, 849 N.E.2d at 701-02.

[13] Husband first contends that the trial court "failed to provide any justification or

 reasoning" for awarding Wife fifty-five percent of the marital estate and that

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 11 of 16
 "the record is devoid of evidence which could lead one to infer the [trial court]

considered present economic circumstances of either party, their contribution to

the acquisition of marital property, the conduct of either party during the

marriage, or their earnings ability." Appellant's Br. at 9. We disagree. The

decree specifically states that the trial court "varied slightly from an equal

division based on the disparity of income." Appellant's App. at 70. The record

establishes that Husband had long been employed by General Motors and had

earned approximately $30 an hour and $70,000 a year for the last few years,

whereas Wife had been sporadically employed for much lower pay and

estimated that she could earn only $18 to $20 an hour if she received a nursing

degree as expected in mid-2014. 3 The decree also states that "[n]either party

acted in good faith with each other" during the dissolution proceeding, which is

amply supported by the record. Appellant's App. at 71. 4 We presume that the

trial court considered the other factors listed in Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-5,

and we find no abuse of discretion in its decision to deviate slightly from an

equal division of the marital estate based on the sizable disparity of the parties'

income.

3
 Husband emphasizes that he "introduced Wife's personal bank account which showed deposits exceeding
$43,000.00 from September 11, 2011 through November 30, 2012. Of the $43,000.00, only $8,700.00 was
from student loans provided to Wife." Appellant's Br. at 3-4 (footnote omitted). Even assuming that Wife
earned the remainder through employment, her income for that period was less than half that of Husband's.
4
 For example, Wife did not make payments on the Cadillac and cashed out an insurance policy in violation
of the provisional order, and Husband was criminally charged with invasion of privacy for allegedly violating
a protective order that Wife obtained against him and with computer tampering for allegedly altering Wife's
financial aid application.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 12 of 16
 [14] Next, Husband contends that

 [t]he Trial Court erred by failing to determine the value of personal
 property in its[] division of assets. Although the parties provided the
 Trial Court with a personal property appraisal and each used said
 appraisal to request individual items, the [trial court] merely awarded
 them the property each party currently had in [its] possession. The
 Trial Court made this award without knowledge as to what or how
 much property each possessed. Without a known value to the
 personal property each party was awarded, it is impossible to know if a
 just and reasonable division has occurred.
 Appellant's Br. at 6.

[15] It is well settled that "[t]he trial court's disposition is to be considered as a

 whole, not item by item. In crafting a just and reasonable property distribution,

 a trial court is required to balance a number of different considerations in

 arriving at an ultimate disposition." Fobar v. Vonderahe, 771 N.E.2d 57, 59-60

 (Ind. 2002) (citation omitted). Here, Husband submitted a list of allegedly

 "missing" items but failed to specify, let alone establish, the value of those

 items. 5 Each party accused the other (or third parties) of dissipating or stealing

 certain assets, and the trial court specifically found that the parties were not

 "particularly candid." Appellant's App. at 71. Wife asserts that "[i]t was

 5
 Husband notes that he requested $4070 in assets to "be set aside as not marital property." Appellant's Br. at
 12 (citing Petitioner's Ex. 3 and Tr. at 14-16, 114-18). All those assets are marital property as defined by
 Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-4(a) and therefore could not have been "set aside." See Falatovics v. Falatovics,
 15 N.E.3d 108, 110 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) ("It is well settled that in a dissolution action, all marital property
 goes into the marital pot for division, whether it was owned by either spouse before the marriage, acquired by
 either spouse after the marriage and before final separation of the parties, or acquired by their joint efforts.")
 (emphasis added); Campbell v. Campbell, 993 N.E.2d 205, 213 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) ("The trial court has no
 authority to exclude or set aside marital property but must divide all property.") (emphasis added), trans.
 denied.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 13 of 16
 impractical in light of the record before the Court to engage in an item by item

 resolution and distribution of the personal property" and that "[t]he trial court's

 decision to divide a few key items of personal property and to let the other items

 remain with the spouse in possession was a just and equitable (indeed laudable)

 decision in this case." Appellee's Br. at 21. Husband has failed to convince us

 otherwise, and therefore we find no abuse of discretion. 6

 Section 3 – The trial court did not abuse its discretion in
 offsetting Husband's expenses by denying Wife's request for
 attorney's fees.
[16] In the decree, the trial court stated that Husband "contributed to a number of

 provisional expenses that were [Wife's] responsibility and should be given

 credit for contribution to these expenses." Appellant's App. at 70. The court

 essentially offset Husband's expenses by denying Wife's request for attorney's

 fees pursuant to Indiana Code Section 31-15-10-1. See id. ("The court

 periodically may order a party to pay a reasonable amount for the cost to the

 other party of maintaining or defending any proceeding under this article and

 for attorney's fees …, including amounts for legal services provided and costs

 incurred before the commencement of the proceedings or after entry of

 judgment."). On the first day of the final hearing, Wife's counsel proffered an

 affidavit, to which Husband did not object, stating that Wife had incurred

 6
 Husband does not assert that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding Wife any specific assets, nor
 has he established that the difference in the purported value of the assets awarded to each party is anything
 but de minimis.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 14 of 16
 attorney's fees of $21,169.14. Petitioner's Ex. 12. Any fees related to the

 subsequent contempt motion against Husband and the second hearing date

 were not included in that figure. Husband proffered an exhibit indicating that

 he had expended $16,860 for monthly payments and insurance on Wife's

 Cadillac, which was Wife's responsibility under the provisional order.

 Respondent's Ex. F. The exhibit also indicated that Husband had expended

 $14,688 for mortgage payments on the marital residence, which were his

 responsibility under the provisional order, as well as $3750 for property taxes

 and $436.31 for Wife's telephone and internet bills, which were not mentioned

 in the order. Id.

[17] Husband complains that "the Court did not indicate the amount of credit it was

 providing to [him] nor did it indicate the amount it awarded Wife in attorney

 fees." Appellant's Br. at 14. Given the considerable disparity in the parties'

 incomes, and given that Wife's attorney's fees as of the first hearing date

 exceeded Husband's expenditures for Wife's obligations under the provisional

 order by over $4300 (i.e., more than the property taxes and the telephone and

 internet bills combined), we find no abuse of discretion here. 7 Cf. Webb v.

 Schleutker, 891 N.E.2d 1144, 1156 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) ("We review a trial

 court's award of attorney fees in connection with a dissolution decree for an

 7
 Husband cites no authority for his suggestion that the trial court should have apportioned Wife's attorney's
 fees commensurate with its distribution of the marital estate. Nor does he cite any authority for the
 proposition that he should be compensated for the mortgage payments, which were his responsibility under
 the provisional order, simply because Wife stayed in the marital residence only sporadically after the spring
 of 2013.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 15 of 16
 abuse of discretion. We consider such factors as the parties' relative resources,

 ability to engage in gainful employment, and ability to earn an adequate

 income.") (citation omitted).

 Section 4 – We remand for the trial court to consider Wife's
 request for appellate attorney's fees.
[18] "Indiana Code section 31-15-10-1(a) authorizes a trial court to award

 reasonable appellate attorney fees. Jurisdiction rests with the trial court to

 determine if an award of appellate attorney fees is appropriate." Goodman v.

 Goodman, 754 N.E.2d 595, 603 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001) (citation omitted). Wife

 requests that "this matter be remanded to the trial court to determine if an

 award of attorney fees is appropriate in light of the discrepancy in earnings

 between the parties and other factors, such as Wife's health, Husband's conduct

 post appeal, and Wife's financial circumstances." Appellee's Br. at 24. It is so

 ordered.

[19] Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

 May, J., and Mathias, J., concur.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 25A05-1407-DR-344 | July 20, 2015 Page 16 of 16