← LexyCorpus index

LexyCorpus case page

CourtListener opinion 4115614

Date unknown · US

Extracted case name
pending
Extracted reporter citation
40 N.E.3d 971
Docket / number
32A04-1604-CT-806 v
QDRO relevance 5/5Retirement relevance 5/5Family-law relevance 5/5gold label pending
Research-use warning: This page contains machine-draft public annotations generated from public opinion text. The headnote is not Willie-approved gold-label work product and is not legal advice. Verify the full opinion and current law before relying on it.

Machine-draft headnote

Machine-draft public headnote: CourtListener opinion 4115614 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

be deducted from Husband's gross disposable retirement pay prior to calculation and payment of Wife's retirement distribution. 18. Wife's entitlement to a distribution of Husband's military retired pay shall be documented by a duly executed and ordered Qualified Domestic Relations Order. Husband and Wife shall each execute any necessary documents to effectuate this provision. (App. Vol. II (hereinafter "App.") at 30-1) (emphasis in original). [3] Husband retired from the military in May 2005. Upon his retirement, he paid Wife $325.00 per month out of his retirement pay. In July 2014, Wife sent the Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opi

retirement benefits

ct payment from the Defense Finance and Accounting Services by virtue of 10 U.S.C. section 1408(d)(2) inasmuch as the parties [sic] marriage has continued for more than ten (10) years during which Husband has accrued active military service creditable for retirement benefits. Further, as the wife of an active duty military serviceman married for at least ten (10) years, Wife shall be entitled to all statutory benefits afforded her. 15. During the period from the date of marriage to the date of separation (March 31, 1985 to March 27, 1998) Husband accumulated 156 months of active Federal service for retirement; 1 One

pension

ere married on March 31, 1985, and divorced on August 7, 1998. 1 For all but approximately two months of the parties' marriage, Husband served in the United States Army. The dissolution court (hereinafter, "Dissolution Court") divided Husband's military pension benefits in the Dissolution Decree and ordered: 13. This Court has jurisdiction over the distribution and division of Husband's military pension benefits pursuant to I.C [sic] 31-9- 2-42. 14. The Wife is entitled to direct payment from the Defense Finance and Accounting Services by virtue of 10 U.S.C. section 1408(d)(2) inasmuch as the parties [si

domestic relations order

ed from Husband's gross disposable retirement pay prior to calculation and payment of Wife's retirement distribution. 18. Wife's entitlement to a distribution of Husband's military retired pay shall be documented by a duly executed and ordered Qualified Domestic Relations Order. Husband and Wife shall each execute any necessary documents to effectuate this provision. (App. Vol. II (hereinafter "App.") at 30-1) (emphasis in original). [3] Husband retired from the military in May 2005. Upon his retirement, he paid Wife $325.00 per month out of his retirement pay. In July 2014, Wife sent the Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opi

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: 40 N.E.3d 971 · docket: 32A04-1604-CT-806 v
Generated at
May 14, 2026

Related public corpus pages

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

Clean opinion text

FILED
 Jan 13 2017, 8:04 am

 CLERK
 Indiana Supreme Court
 Court of Appeals
 and Tax Court

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Katherine A. Harmon Christopher P. Jeter
Jared S. Sunday Amy O. Carson
Mallor Grodner LLP Massillamany & Jeter LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana Fishers, Indiana

 IN THE
 COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Samuel W. Koonce, January 13, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
 32A04-1604-CT-806
 v. Appeal from the Hendricks
 Superior Court
Kim M. Finney, The Honorable Rhett M. Stuard,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
 Trial Court Cause No.
 32D02-1503-CT-37

May, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 1 of 22
 [1] Samuel W. Koonce ("Husband") appeals an order denying his Verified Motion

 for Relief from Judgment Pursuant to Trial Rule 60(B)(6) and his Verified

 Motion to Clarify Dissolution Decree. We affirm.

 Facts and Procedural History
[2] Husband and Kim M. Finney ("Wife") were married on March 31, 1985, and

 divorced on August 7, 1998. 1 For all but approximately two months of the

 parties' marriage, Husband served in the United States Army. The dissolution

 court (hereinafter, "Dissolution Court") divided Husband's military pension

 benefits in the Dissolution Decree and ordered:

 13. This Court has jurisdiction over the distribution and division
 of Husband's military pension benefits pursuant to I.C [sic] 31-9-
 2-42.

 14. The Wife is entitled to direct payment from the Defense
 Finance and Accounting Services by virtue of 10 U.S.C. section
 1408(d)(2) inasmuch as the parties [sic] marriage has continued
 for more than ten (10) years during which Husband has accrued
 active military service creditable for retirement benefits. Further,
 as the wife of an active duty military serviceman married for at
 least ten (10) years, Wife shall be entitled to all statutory benefits
 afforded her.

 15. During the period from the date of marriage to the date of
 separation (March 31, 1985 to March 27, 1998) Husband
 accumulated 156 months of active Federal service for retirement;

 1
 One child was born of the marriage in 1996 but the issues herein do not involve her custody or support.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 2 of 22
 Husband has accumulated a total of 156 months of active Federal
 service for retirement from his original enlistment date to the date
 of separation.

 16. The Wife shall receive 50% of the Member's disposable
 retired pay, before taxes, as defined by 10 USC 1408 (a)(4) and
 reduced by the cost of Husband's enrollment in the Survivor
 Benefit Plan (SBP) for spouse. Wife shall be responsible for the
 payment of income taxes on her distributive share of Husband's
 military retired pay. Wife's share shall be payable to the
 Wife/Former Spouse in the month the military member FIRST
 receives retired or disability retired pay; further, Husband shall be
 responsible for making monthly payment directly to Wife for any
 month in which Husband received retired or disability retired pay
 where such payment to Wife has not been deducted and paid via
 monthly allotment.

 17. Husband shall at the time of retirement elect and enroll in
 the spouse's option of the Survivor's Benefit Plan (SBP) and
 make Wife the beneficiary thereof; and the monthly cost of such
 SBP election shall be deducted from Husband's gross disposable
 retirement pay prior to calculation and payment of Wife's
 retirement distribution.

 18. Wife's entitlement to a distribution of Husband's military
 retired pay shall be documented by a duly executed and ordered
 Qualified Domestic Relations Order. Husband and Wife shall
 each execute any necessary documents to effectuate this
 provision.

 (App. Vol. II (hereinafter "App.") at 30-1) (emphasis in original).

[3] Husband retired from the military in May 2005. Upon his retirement, he paid

 Wife $325.00 per month out of his retirement pay. In July 2014, Wife sent the

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 3 of 22
 Defense Finance and Accounting Service ("DFAS") a copy of the parties'

 Dissolution Decree in order to begin receiving payments directly from DFAS as

 indicated in the Dissolution Decree. On October 1, 2014, DFAS sent Wife a

 check for $1,039.68, an amount which represented "31.7073% of Husband's

 gross monthly retirement pay." (Id. at 13.) Wife continued to receive payment

 from DFAS, which "included increases for cost-of-living and inflation." (Id.)

[4] On December 22, 2014, Husband filed with the Dissolution Court a request for

 modification of child support under the original dissolution cause number

 ("Dissolution Action"). On March 9, 2015, Wife filed in a different court

 (hereinafter, "Civil Court") a separate civil action ("Civil Action") alleging

 fraud, constructive fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust
 enrichment aimed at [Wife], over the course of nearly a decade,
 during which [Husband] deprived her of tens-of-thousands of
 dollars in military retired pay for which she was entitled per: (1)
 federal law; and (2) an order of this Court. Instead of fulfilling
 his legal obligations, [Husband] orchestrated a web of deceit to
 enrich himself at the expense of his ex-wife and minor child. He
 maintained this scheme through misrepresentations and/or
 omissions relating to retired pay calculations, child support, and
 the ability for [Wife] to obtain payment directly from the federal
 government without his consent. [Wife] only recently became
 aware of [Husband's] falsehoods and immediately worked with
 the federal government to obtain direct and accurate payments.
 Since that time, [Husband] has threatened to slander, intimidate,
 and shame [Wife].

 (Id. at 39.) On March 17, 2015, Husband filed a Motion for Rule to Show

 Cause and/or Request for Clarification of the Dissolution Decree in the

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 4 of 22
 Dissolution Action, requesting the Dissolution Court clarify the terms of the

 Dissolution Decree regarding Husband's military pension.

[5] On March 19, 2015, Husband filed a motion to dismiss Wife's Civil Action,

 and the Civil Court denied his motion. Husband filed a motion to correct

 errors, which the Civil Court also denied. On December 8, 2015, while the

 motions in the Dissolution Action were still pending, Husband filed a Motion

 to Clarify Dissolution Decree as part of the Civil Action, asking the Civil Court

 to clarify the terms of the Dissolution Decree regarding Husband's military

 pension. Wife filed her answer thereto on January 4, 2016, and requested a

 hearing on the issue.

[6] On January 7, 2015, Husband filed a motion in the Dissolution Court for relief

 from judgment under Indiana Trial Rule 60(B)(6), alleging the portion of the

 Dissolution Decree dividing Husband's military pension was void. On January

 12, 2016, by agreement of both parties, the Civil Court consolidated all issues,

 except Husband's request for modification of child support, from the

 Dissolution Action into the Civil Action. Wife filed her response to Husband's

 Rule 60(B)(6) motion on January 28, 2016, in Civil Court.

[7] The Civil Court held a hearing on Husband's motion to clarify and Rule

 60(B)(6) motion on February 16, 2016. Husband requested findings of fact and

 conclusions of law by motion the same day. On March 17, 2016, the Civil

 Court issued its order on Husband's motions, denying them both.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 5 of 22
 [8] On April 6, 2016, Husband requested the Civil Court certify its order for

 interlocutory appeal and the Civil Court did so on April 11, 2016. On April 15,

 2016, Husband filed two appeals: one indicating the Civil Court's order was a

 final judgment, and the other requesting our court assume jurisdiction over the

 Civil Court's order as a permissive interlocutory appeal. We accepted

 jurisdiction over the interlocutory appeal on May 13, 2016, and ordered the

 appeals consolidated.

 Discussion and Decision
[9] Husband requested the Civil Court enter written findings and conclusions in

 support of its judgment. In such a circumstance, we apply a two-tiered standard

 of review. Maddux v. Maddux, 40 N.E.3d 971, 974 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015), reh'g

 denied.

 First, we determine whether the evidence supports the findings,
 and second whether the findings support the judgment. We will
 reverse only if there is no evidence supporting the findings or the
 findings fail to support the judgment. We review the findings of
 fact using a clearly erroneous standard. Clear error occurs when
 our review of the evidence most favorable to the judgment leaves
 us firmly convinced that a mistake has been made. We review
 the conclusions of law using a de novo standard.

 Id. at 974-75 (footnote and internal citations omitted).

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 6 of 22
 Trial Rule 60(B)(6) Motion
[10] Under Indiana Trial Rule 60(B)(6), the trial court may relieve a party from a

 judgment if "the judgment is void." Id. A motion requesting relief under Rule

 60(B)(6) "shall be filed within a reasonable time." T.R. 60(B). Our standard of

 review regarding a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Rule 60(B)(6)

 "requires no discretion on the part of the trial court because either the judgment

 is void or it is valid" and, thus, our review is de novo. Rice v. Com'r, Indiana Dept.

 of Envtl. Mgmt., 782 N.E.2d 1000, 1003 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003) (quoting Hotmix &

 Bituminous Equip. Inc. v. Hardrock Equip. Corp., 719 N.E.2d 824, 826 (Ind. Ct.

 App. 1999)). To prevail under Rule 60(B)(6), the party must demonstrate the

 prior judgment was void, and not merely voidable. Id.

[11] "The distinction between the terms ‘void' and ‘voidable' is critical in this

 context." Chapin v. Hulse, 599 N.E.2d 217, 220 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992), trans.

 denied. A decision that is void "has no legal effect at any time and cannot be

 confirmed or ratified by subsequent action or inaction" and "is subject to a

 collateral attack." Id. A decision which is voidable "has legal effect until such

 time as challenged in the appropriate manner and can be ratified or confirmed

 by subsequent action or inaction" and "may only be attacked through a direct

 appeal." Id.

[12] We further note our Indiana Supreme Court's commentary regarding the

 misuse of jurisdiction arguments as a ploy to escape a waiver of direct appeal.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 7 of 22
 Far too often there is an inclination in a law suit [sic] to attempt
 to convert a legal issue into one of "jurisdiction" and from that
 point contend all actions of the court are void, and that the
 question of jurisdiction may be raised at any time or that the
 proceedings are subject to collateral attack and are a matter for
 original writs in this court.

J.I. Case Co. v. Sandefur, 245 Ind. 213, 217-18, 197 N.E.2d 519, 521 (1964). In

R.L. Turner Corp. v. Town of Brownsburg, the Court provided a tutorial in

jurisdiction:

 To act in a given case, a trial court must possess both subject
 matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Subject matter
 jurisdiction exists when the Indiana Constitution or a statute
 grants the court the power to hear and decide cases of the general
 class to which any particular proceeding belongs. Personal
 jurisdiction exists when a defendant both has sufficient minimum
 contacts within the state to justify a court subjecting the
 defendant to its control, and has received proper notice of a suit
 against him in that court.

963 N.E.2d 453, 457 (Ind. 2012). The Court provided an example of this

confusion between legal issues and true jurisdiction problems in K.S. v. State:

 Thus, while we might casually say, "Judge Flywheel assumed
 jurisdiction," or "the court had jurisdiction to impose a ten-year
 sentence," such statements do not have anything to do with the
 law of jurisdiction, either personal or subject matter. Real
 jurisdictional problems would be, say, a juvenile delinquency
 adjudication entered in a small claims court, or a judgment
 rendered without any service of process. Thus, characterizing
 other sorts of procedural defects as "jurisdictional"
 misapprehends the concepts.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 8 of 22
 849 N.E.2d 538, 541-2 (Ind. 2006).

[13] In this case, the Civil Court found:

 41. The "void" requirement of Trial Rule 60(B)(6) has been
 interpreted to mean that the trial court lacked jurisdiction when it
 issued the judgment in question. Gourley v. L.Y., 657 N.E.2d 448,
 449 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995), trans. denied.

 42. Indiana Courts have rejected arguments, similar to that made
 by [Husband] in this case, which seek to expand the limited
 scope of Rule 60(B)(6). See Dusenberry v. Dusenberry, 625 N.E.2d
 458, 461-62 (Ind. Ct. App. 1993) (dismissing wife's claim that
 dissolution decree was void because it improperly included a
 personal injury settlement as property, and holding that such
 relief was not available to wife under Trial Rule 60(B)(6) since
 the wife's argument was not "jurisdictional," but a claim "that
 the Decree was erroneous, as a matter of law . . .").

 43. Just as with the former spouse in Dusenberry, [Husband] does
 not challenge this Court's jurisdiction, but claims that it
 improperly included items as marital property which should not
 have been included. It thus follows that the Decree is not void,
 but merely voidable, and [Husband] is not entitled to relief under
 Rule 60(B)(6).

 (App. at 16.) As the Civil Court found, Dusenberry is essentially on point with

 the facts of this case.

[14] In Dusenberry, the parties, Gerald and Carolyn, divided the settlement from a

 pending personal injury suit as part of their Divorce Settlement. The decree

 provided "for an equal division of the net settlement proceeds from the suit."

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 9 of 22
 Dusenberry, 625 N.E.2d at 459. When the personal injury suit concluded,

 Carolyn had incurred additional expenses not considered when the parties

 agreed to an equal division of the net settlement proceeds from the personal

 injury suit. She petitioned the trial court under Rule 60(B)(6) to modify or

 rescind the part of the Divorce Decree addressing the settlement proceeds to

 take into account the change in circumstances. She argued as part of her Rule

 60(B)(6) motion "that the trial court lacked ‘jurisdiction' over the pending tort

 claim and, therefore, that the division of the settlement proceeds was void." Id.

 at 461. Our court noted the well-established rule that "[r]elief from a ‘void

 judgment' is available when the trial court lacked either personal or subject

 matter jurisdiction." Id. at 461-2. Our court rejected Carolyn's argument "the

 Decree was erroneous, as a matter of law, because the value of the personal

 injury settlement was contingent and was not a marital asset which could be

 divided. [Thus] [t]he error alleged is not jurisdictional. The Decree is not

 void." Id. at 462.

[15] Like in Dusenberry, Husband argues his military retirement pension should not

 have been included as part of the marital estate. He does not question the

 personal or subject matter jurisdiction of the Civil Court. However, he cites

 case law subsequent to Dusenberry to support his argument that a judgment can

 be declared void for a reason outside of personal and subject matter jurisdiction.

 We examine that case law and Husband's argument now.

[16] In Beanblossom v. State, our court declared: "A judgment may be void for want

 of authority in a court to render the particular judgment though the court may

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 10 of 22
 have jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties." 637 N.E.2d 1345,

 1349 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994), trans. denied. Based thereon, Husband argues:

 In a dissolution case, a trial court has authority to divide marital
 assets, but does not have authority to divide assets outside of the
 marital pot. . . . [Husband's] military retired pay did not exist at
 the time of the dissolution, so there was nothing for the trial court
 to have jurisdiction over. . . . As the trial court did not have any
 authority to enter the Decree, it must be found to be void ab
 initio.

 (Br. of Appellant at 24.)

[17] The issue in Beanblossom involved sentence modification under Ind. Code § 35-

 38-1-17(a) (1994), which permitted a trial court to modify a sentence within a

 365-day window, provided certain circumstances were met. However, the

 statute provided, "[i]f more than three hundred sixty-five (365) days have

 elapsed since the defendant began serving the sentence and after a hearing at

 which the convicted person is present, the court may reduce or suspend the

 sentence, subject to the approval of the prosecuting attorney." Indiana Code §

 35-38-1-17(b) (1994). The trial court granted Beanblossom's motion for

 modification of sentence approximately ten years after he began serving his

 sentence. The State filed a motion to correct error, invoking the provisions of

 Indiana Code § 35-38-1-17(b) (1994), because the prosecuting attorney had not

 approved any sentence modification and the petition was filed outside the 365-

 day window allowed in Indiana Code § 35-38-1-17(a) (1994). The trial court

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 11 of 22
 granted the State's motion to correct error, and we affirmed that decision.

 Beanblossom, 637 N.E.2d at 1349.

[18] We based our Beanblossom decision on an earlier case with similar facts,

 Christakis v. State, 493 N.E.2d 471, 472 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986). In Christakis, we

 reversed the trial court's decision to grant Christakis' request for probation

 pursuant to Indiana Code § 35-7-1-1 (1976), which provided a 180-day window

 for the trial court to grant probation. 793 N.E.2d at 472. Christakis relied on

 State ex rel. Abel v. Vigo Circuit Court, in which our Indiana Supreme Court, in

 examining the same statute in Christakis, stated:

 The clear intention of the legislature is to give the trial court an
 opportunity to sentence a defendant but keep reserved in his
 judgment an opportunity to review incarceration of the defendant
 up to 180 days within which time he may grant probation as
 though it were originally done at the time of sentencing. Prior to
 the enactment of this provision, a trial court had no authority
 over a defendant after he pronounced a sentence. The
 jurisdiction over the defendant then went to the Department of
 Correction. This statute gave the trial judge an additional 180
 days to consider or reconsider the probation aspect of the
 sentencing. . . . We hold the grant of such power by the
 legislature is jurisdictional and that upon the expiration of the
 180 days notwithstanding any petitions filed by the defendant,
 the court loses further jurisdiction over the defendant so far as the
 alteration of his sentence is concerned.

 462 N.E.2d 61, 63 (Ind. 1984). Thus, in Beanblossom, Christakis, and Abel, the

 judgments were void because, while the trial court had authority to modify the

 sentences at one time, the court's judgment was rendered outside the limited

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 12 of 22
 time in which the legislature had granted the court authority to act. Thus, at

 the time the court acted, there was no longer a justiciable question before the

 court. 2

[19] This reasoning was extended to relief from civil judgments in Alexander v. Cole,

 697 N.E.2d 80, 82-3 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998), superseded by statute on other grounds.

 In Alexander, the father sought relief from the dissolution court's ex parte order

 awarding mother legal custody of the couple's two older children. The father

 filed a motion for relief under Rule 60(B)(6), alleging the dissolution court's

 order was void because there was a Child in Need of Services (CHINS) petition

 pending and the CHINS court retained jurisdiction over the children until that

 action ceased. The statutes at issue provided, in relevant part: "A juvenile court

 has exclusive original jurisdiction . . . [in] (2) Proceedings in which a child,

 including a child of divorced parents, is alleged to be a child in need of services

 under IC 31-34[,]" Ind. Code § 31-30-1-1(2) (1997), and "the juvenile court's

 jurisdiction over . . . a child in need of services and over the child's parent . . .

 continues until: (1) the child becomes twenty-one (21) years of age, unless the

 court discharges the child and the child's parent . . . at an earlier time[.]" Ind.

 Code § 31-30-2-1 (1997).

[20] We cited Beanblossom for the premise "a judgment may be void for a court's

 lack of authority to render the particular judgment even though the court may

 2
 Justiciability is: "The quality, state, or condition of being appropriate or suitable for adjudication by a court.
 See MOOTNESS DOCTRINE; RIPENESS. Cf. STANDING." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY (10th Ed. 2014) at 997.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 13 of 22
 have jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties." Alexander, 697

 N.E.2d at 83. We held the dissolution court was without authority to make the

 custody determination because the CHINS court retained jurisdiction until

 "that court discharged the parties or transferred the case." Id. at 82. As in

 Beanblossom and the related cases, Indiana Code §§ 31-30-1-1 & 31-30-2-1

 allowed no latitude in interpretation of the dissolution court's authority - if a

 pending CHINS case gave the CHINS court exclusive jurisdiction over the

 child at issue, the dissolution court could not adjudicate any question regarding

 that child.

[21] Similarly, in In re Guardianship of A.J.A., 991 N.E.2d 110, 115 (Ind. 2013), our

 Indiana Supreme Court found the trial court's grandparent visitation order void

 because grandmother did not have standing to pursue a grandparent visitation

 order under Indiana Code § 31-17-5-1, which allows a grandparent to seek

 visitation if "(1) the child's parent is deceased; (2) the marriage of the child's

 parents has been dissolved in Indiana; or (3) subject to subsection (b), the child

 was born out of wedlock." While A.J.A.'s mother was dead, her father was

 alive and incarcerated for her mother's murder. The parents were married

 when A.J.A. was born and did not dissolve their marriage prior to mother's

 murder. As such, the controlling statute did not grant the court any authority to

 render a judgment providing visitation for grandmother.

[22] The facts here are distinct from those in the cases above where a judgment was

 held void because the court lacked authority to render its decision. In

 Beanblossom, Christakis, and Abel, the trial court had authority at one point, but

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 14 of 22
 that authority expired after a certain time limit. Similarly, in Alexander and

 A.J.A., the trial court had authority to rule in certain circumstances, but that

 authority was limited by another court's exclusive jurisdiction, in the case of

 Alexander, or the party's lack of standing, as in A.J.A. The authority vested or

 rescinded in each of these cases was apparent on the face of the complaint,

 without the court needing to address the merits of any underlying factual issue

 or legal argument in the case. The trial court simply did not have statutory

 authority to act under the circumstances that existed.

[23] In contrast, it is undisputed the Dissolution Court here had authority to

 adjudicate the property division requested by the parties as part of its

 Dissolution Order. See Ind. Code § 31-15-7-4 (providing terms by which the

 court "shall" divide the property of the parties in a dissolution action).

 Whether Husband's military pay is "property" under Indiana Code § 31-9-2-

 98(3) is subject to interpretation, as is evident from the complexity of the

 arguments set forth by the parties and the variety of holdings in precedent.

 However, none of the parties' current arguments regarding Husband's military

 pay could deny the Dissolution Court of its authority to adjudicate the property

 division under Indiana Code Section 31-15-7-4 at the time the decree was

 entered.

[24] We decline Husband's invitation to examine the merits of his underlying legal

 argument in order to determine whether the Dissolution Court had authority to

 render any judgment at all. As the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals stated in a

 recent similar matter, if we were to consider such a circular argument, "then

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 15 of 22
 appeal waivers would lose all effect. That's because we would have to consider

 an appeal's merits in every case." United States v. Worthen, 2016 WL 6936553

 (7th Cir., November 28, 2016). 3

[25] Husband's opportunity to contest the terms of the Dissolution Decree involving

 his military pension passed almost twenty years ago. He cannot now attempt to

 revive this waiver by filing a Rule 60(B)(6) motion. See R.L. Turner, 963 N.E.2d

 at 457 ("[A] party who was asleep at the wheel has a powerful incentive to

 couch a claim of procedural error as a jurisdictional defect either to circumvent

 the doctrine of waiver or to open up an avenue for collateral attack."). The

 Civil Court did not err when it denied Husband's motion for relief from

 judgment under Rule 60(B)(6).

 3
 In Worthen, the appellant sought modification of his sentence by challenging the validity of his underlying
 conviction after he pled guilty to the crimes. The Seventh Circuit explained:

 To be clear, the crux of Worthen's argument is that the validity of his appeal waiver
 depends on the validity of his conviction. That argument is entirely circular. Indeed, to
 determine whether Worthen's crime-of-violence conviction is invalid, we would have to
 take the appeal in the first place. Then, only if we agree with Worthen and conclude that
 his conviction is in fact invalid would we find that Worthen's sentence exceeds the
 statutory maximum, which in turn would mean that Worthen did not waive his appeal
 rights. So the rule would be that an appeal waiver is enforceable unless the appellant
 would succeed on the merits of his appeal. That cannot be the law.

 Worthen, slip op. at 2.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 16 of 22
 Motion to Clarify
[26] Husband filed a motion for clarification of the Dissolution Decree. The

 legislature provided that "orders concerning property disposition entered under

 this chapter (or [Indiana Code §] 31-1-11.5-9 before its repeal) may not be

 revoked or modified, except in case of fraud." Ind. Code § 31-15-7-9.1(a).

 However, the trial court may "entertain a petition the nature of which is to seek

 clarification of a prior order." Thomas v. Thomas, 577 N.E.2d 216, 219 (Ind.

 1991)).

[27] The Indiana Trial Rules do not provide for a motion for clarification; however,

 we have held, "it would elevate form over substance to treat a ‘motion to

 clarify' as anything other than a motion to correct error." Hedrick v. Gilbert, 17

 N.E.3d 321, 326 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014). In Hedrick, Gilbert filed a "motion to

 clarify" over thirty days after the trial court's final judgment. The trial court

 granted the "motion to clarify." Hedrick appealed following the trial court's

 order on Gilbert's "motion to clarify" and Gilbert argued Hedrick's appeal was

 untimely. Our court likened Gilbert's "motion to clarify" as a "motion to

 correct error," stating

 Indiana Trial Rule 59(F) plainly states that "[a]ny modification . . .
 following the filing of a Motion to Correct Error shall be an
 appealable final judgment or order." (Emphasis added). Here,
 the trial court unquestionably modified its original order by
 adding new terms to it. Because Hedrick filed his Notice of
 Appeal within thirty days of the trial court's order issued in
 response to the motion for clarification, we find that this appeal
 is timely and will address the issues raised herein.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 17 of 22
 Id. (emphasis in original). While we ultimately hold the Civil Court's denial of

 Husband's Motion to Clarify did not modify terms of the agreement, we find

 the reasoning used in Hedrick appropriate to determine our standard of review.

[28] A trial court has broad discretion in ruling on a motion to correct error.

 Volunteers of Am. v. Premier Auto Acceptance Corp., 755 N.E.2d 656, 658 (Ind. Ct.

 App. 2001). We will reverse only for an abuse of that discretion. Id. An abuse

 of discretion occurs if the decision was against the logic and effect of the facts

 and circumstances before the court or if the court misapplied the law. Id.

[29] Here, Husband argues the Civil Court's denial of his Motion to Clarify resulted

 in an impermissible modification of the Dissolution Decree. He argues the

 circumstances in Pherson v. Lund, 997 N.E.2d 367 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013), are

 "almost identical" to those before us. (Br. of Appellant at 27.) Pherson is

 distinguishable.

[30] In Pherson, the parties, Michael and Judith, were married in 1979 and divorced

 by settlement agreement in 1991. During the entirety of the marriage Michael

 worked for a railroad. The settlement agreement provided:

 Husband . . . is presently entitled to benefits provided under the
 Railroad Retirement Act. Section 14 of the Act as amended
 provides that the "Tier II Component" may be subject to division
 by a Dissolution of Marriage Decree. The Wife shall be awarded
 and is entitled to one-half of the Husband's "Tier II" portion of
 benefits subject to division under Section 14 of the Railroad
 Retirement Act as amended, and if available at the time of
 distribution the Railroad Retirement Board will pay directly to

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 18 of 22
 the Wife said 50% portion of the "Tier II" benefits as set out
 above.

 Pherson, 997 N.E.2d at 368. The court further explained:

 Judith Lund, Petitioner, is awarded and the Railroad Retirement
 Board is directed to pay an interest in the portion of Michael T.
 Lund, social security number XXX, benefits under the Railroad
 Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. Section 231, et seq.) which may be
 divided as provided by Section 14 of that Act (45 U.S.C. Section
 231m). Judith Lund's share shall be fifty percent (50%) of the
 Tier II portion of the benefits of Michael T. Lund.

 Id. at 368-9. After dissolution, Michael worked for eighteen and a half years at

 the railroad. When he retired, Judith received half of his pension as directed by

 the settlement agreement. Michael sought clarification of the settlement

 agreement, arguing Judith was entitled only to the value of his pension at the

 time they entered into the settlement agreement, not to the value of his pension

 after an additional eighteen years of post-dissolution employment.

[31] The trial court agreed with Michael and concluded Judith was entitled to only

 fifty percent of the value of Michael's pension at the time of dissolution:

 It is clear that property acquired by one spouse in his or her own
 right after final separation should not be considered a marital
 asset subject to division. In the case at bar, the Respondent
 worked at his job, earning 18 ½ additional years' worth of Tier II
 benefits after the parties were divorced. That portion of the Tier
 II benefits normally would not be subject to division by the
 divorce court, since the benefits had not been earned and did not
 exist at the time of final separation.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 19 of 22
 Id. at 370 (internal citations omitted). Judith appealed, and we agreed with the

 trial court:

 The agreement in this case simply failed to assign a value to the
 vested pension exclusive of future contributions. It fell to the trial
 court to do so. Generally, a dissolution court may, when valuing
 a marital asset, select a date between the filing of the dissolution
 petition and the date of the final hearing. Here, the valuation
 date ultimately selected by the trial court to correspond to the
 50/50 split was that most favorable to Wife, the date of the final
 hearing on property distribution. The coverture fraction reflects
 this valuation date; we find no error.

 Id. at 371 (internal citation and footnote omitted).

[32] In the present case, the terms regarding Husband's pension are not as

 ambiguous and take into account the fact Husband and Wife were married for

 only a portion of the time used to determine Husband's final pension amount.

 To address that issue, the Dissolution Decree noted, "during the period from

 the date of marriage to the date of separation (March 31, 1985 to March 27,

 1998) Husband accumulated 156 months of active Federal service for

 retirement[.]" (App. at 30.) Based thereon, the Dissolution Court ordered,

 "Wife shall receive 50% of [Husband's] disposable retired pay, before taxes[.]"

 (Id. at 31.)

[33] In its order denying Husband's Motion to Clarify, the Civil Court found,

 regarding the disbursement of Husband's pension to Wife:

 15. DFAS is charged with the administration of Department of
 Defense payments, including retirement benefits.
 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 20 of 22
 16. In October 2014, DFAS sent $1,039.68 directly to [Wife],
 representing 31.7073% of [Husband's] gross monthly military
 retirement pay.

 17. This 31.7% number is arrived at by calculating the
 percentage of [Husband's] military service that occurred while
 married to [Wife] (63.4% of his total service occurred during the
 marriage OR 156 months out of total service of 246 months), and
 then giving [Wife] 50% of that amount as ordered by the Court in
 the Decree. (.634 x .5 = .31707).

 *****

 54. DFAS deals with decrees from various courts from all over
 the country every day. They were able to interpret and give full
 effect to the Decree as written in 1998 and asked no questions
 and raised no red flags.

 *****

 56. DFAS . . . interpreted the Decree in a manner reasonably
 calculated to give effect to every provision of the Decree related
 to the pension.

 57. This is a strong signal to the Court that its 1998 decree was
 correct when issued and remains so now.

 (Id. at 13, 17-18.)

[34] Although the Civil Court denied Husband's motion to clarify, it examined the

 process DFAS used to determine Wife's share of Husband's pension, and in

 doing so, the Civil Court explained why Wife was receiving the legally

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 21 of 22
 appropriate amount of Husband's pension. Unlike the initial pension allocation

 in Pherson, the DFAS calculation herein takes into account the fact Husband

 worked for seven years post-dissolution by giving Wife half of the pension

 Husband earned during their marriage. Because the DFAS calculation is

 consistent with the terms of the Dissolution Decree and provides Wife with

 only half of the pension Husband earned during the marriage, we find no abuse

 of discretion in the Civil Court's denial of Husband's motion to clarify.

 Conclusion
[35] Because the Dissolution Court's Divorce Decree was not void, Husband is not

 entitled to relief from the judgment under Rule 60(B)(6). The Civil Court did

 not abuse its discretion when it denied Husband's motion to clarify. We

 accordingly affirm.

[36] Affirmed.

 Kirsch, J., and Crone, J., concur.

 Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 32A04-1604-CT-806 | January 13, 2017 Page 22 of 22