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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 42 / 04-0950 Filed May 12, 2006 IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF DONNA LEE SULLINS AND RAYMOND W. SULLINS Upon the Petition of DONNA LEE SULLINS, Appellee, And Concerning RAYMOND W. SULLINS, Appellant. ________________________________________________________________________ On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Sherman W. Phipps, Judge.

Appeal from district court's division of property in dissolution case. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.

Raymond W. Sullins, West Des Moines, pro se.

Andrew B. Howie of Hudson, Mallaney & Shindler, P.C., West Des Moines, for appellee.

2 CADY, Justice. Ray Sullins seeks further review of a decision by the court of appeals affirming the property-distribution and attorney-fee provisions of a district court decree for dissolution of marriage. He argues: (1) the division of a retirement account was inequitable, (2) the court did not properly consider his premarital retirement savings, (3) the division of the parties' other assets and liabilities was inequitable, (4) he should not have been ordered to pay attorney fees, and (5) the court should have ordered a postsecondary education subsidy for the parties' daughter. We vacate the decision of the court of appeals and affirm the decree of the district court as modified. I. Background Facts and Proceedings

Ray and Donna Sullins were married on November 25, 1978. Donna was a teacher in the West Des Moines school district at the time, and Ray worked as a lawyer in the office of the Iowa Attorney General. Donna had a bachelor's degree in music education. Ray owned a house, which he contributed to the marriage. Donna contributed a car and

various household items to the marriage. She had also participated in the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) for eight years prior to the marriage, and had acquired a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA). Ray had a variety of personal property as well as an IPERS account from his employment with the attorney general. A year into the marriage, Ray withdrew his IPERS funds and used them as a down payment on a new home. Around the same time, Ray left the attorney general's office and began to work as a lobbyist. Donna and Ray had three children: Deborah, Stephen, and

Matthew. Deborah was born in 1981, Stephen was born in 1984, and Matthew was born in 1986. Donna continued to work during this time

3 on a part-time basis, and later returned as a fulltime teacher. Ray

transitioned from lobbying into the private practice of law. Donna also took night and weekend classes, which enabled her to obtain her masters degree in 2000. After that time, the marriage began to deteriorate. Sadly, Donna and Ray were confronted with more than their fair share of agony. Ray had a series of problems in his professional career that culminated in the revocation of his license to practice law in Iowa in 2002. That same year, Donna and Ray faced a parent's worst nightmare when Stephen, their oldest son, tragically died. They also did not escape financial difficulties. Their home was put up for tax sale on two occasions. Donna filed for divorce in February 2003. At the time of the trial in January 2004, Donna was fifty-six, and Ray was fifty-eight. Their

daughter, Deborah, was twenty-two and was a fulltime student at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was in her final year of school. Matthew was eighteen and was a senior at Waukee High School. Donna was teaching fulltime, making approximately $54,000 per year. Ray was working in sales, making approximately $81,000 per year. The district court entered its decree in April 2004. The court found Donna's annuity, which she funded entirely before the marriage, and her eight years of premarital IPERS contributions were not "part of the marital assets" and awarded both to her. The annuity was valued at

$4872. The court valued the IPERS account at $57,081.47. The court awarded $35,247.81 of it to Donna, and $21,833.66 of it to Ray. 1

court set aside eight thirty-fourths (23.5%) of the IPERS account ($13,414.14) for Donna as premarital property. Eight was the number of Donna's premarital contribution years, and thirty-four was the number of years she had contributed up to the divorce. The court then divided the remainder of the IPERS account ($43,667.33) equally between Donna and Ray, awarding each $21,833.67.

1The

4 Including the premarital retirement savings, which the court treated as Donna's separate property, the court awarded Donna a total of $275,198.31 in assets (consisting mainly of the house and retirement accounts) and awarded Ray $57,236.16 in assets. The court ordered

Donna to be responsible for $87,777.50 of the marital debt, and Ray to be responsible for $17,454.50 of the debt (in addition to a $750,000 malpractice judgment against him). To equalize the disparate equity

awarded to Donna, the court ordered her to pay Ray $61,676.53. The court also ordered Ray to pay $7500 of Donna's attorney fees. Ray appealed, and we transferred the case to the court of appeals. The court of appeals affirmed the decree in its entirety. Ray sought, and we granted, further review. II. Standard of Review

We review dissolution cases de novo. In re Marriage of Schriner, 695 N.W.2d 493, 495 (Iowa 2005) (citing In re Marriage of Benson, 545 N.W.2d 252, 253 (Iowa 1996); Iowa R. App. P. 6.4). "Although we decide

the issues raised on appeal anew, we give weight to the trial court's factual findings, especially with respect to the credibility of the witnesses." In re Marriage of Witten, 672 N.W.2d 768, 773 (Iowa 2003). We review the district court's award of attorney fees for an abuse of discretion. Id. (citing In re Marriage of Benson, 545 N.W.2d at 258). III. Premarital Property

Iowa is an equitable distribution state. In re Marriage of Schriner, 695 N.W.2d at 496. This "means that courts divide the property of the parties at the time of divorce, except any property excluded from the divisible estate as separate property, in an equitable manner in light of the particular circumstances of the parties." Id. (citing In re Marriage of McNerney, 417 N.W.2d 205, 207 (Iowa 1987)). All property of the

5 marriage that exists at the time of the divorce, other than gifts and inheritances to one spouse, is divisible property. Id. (citing Iowa Code

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