In re Marriage of Rasmussen, 2019 IL App (5th) 170485-U

In re Marriage of Rasmussen, No. 5‑17‑0485, 2019 IL App (5th) 170485‑U (Ill. App. Ct. June 5, 2019) — Petitioner/Appellee: Christine M. Rasmussen; Respondent/Appellant: Michael A. Rasmussen.

Key legal issues
- Whether petitioner’s failure to make mortgage payments on respondent’s purportedly nonmarital home during his incarceration amounted to a diminution of that nonmarital asset that should be considered in equitable distribution.
- Proper method for calculating the marital portion of respondent’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
- Validity of appointing an interested party (petitioner) as trustee of a 750 ILCS 5/503(g) trust and whether funding the trust with a portion of respondent’s nonmarital property was confiscatory.
- Whether undisbursed trust funds should be returned to respondent and whether the trust termination date required amendment.

Holding / outcome
- The appellate court affirmed the circuit court’s dissolution judgment in all material respects but modified the judgment to (1) amend the trust termination date and (2) order return of any leftover trust funds to respondent. The court held that (a) petitioner did not demonstrably decrease the value of respondent’s nonmarital home by failing to make mortgage payments; (b) the circuit court correctly calculated the marital portion of the TSP; (c) appointing petitioner as trustee under 503(g) was not erroneous; and (d) the trust funding was not confiscatory of respondent’s nonmarital property.

Significant legal reasoning
- On the home: the court found insufficient proof that petitioner’s conduct caused a diminution in the value of respondent’s nonmarital property. The appellant failed to produce evidence attributing foreclosure/reduction in value directly to petitioner’s nonpayment rather than to other factors (timing of deed, foreclosure process, lack of access to funds).
- On the TSP: the court accepted the circuit court’s arithmetic approach—allocating as marital the portion of TSP attributable to contributions made during the marriage (supported by payroll/W‑2 and contribution evidence)—and rejected appellant’s challenge to that calculation.
- On the 503(g) trust and trustee appointment: the court recognized the statutory authorization for such trusts (750 ILCS 5/503(g)) to protect children’s support where a parent is incapacitated or incarcerated and found no abuse in appointing an interested trustee where the court retained oversight and limited the trust so as not to confiscate nonmarital assets. The appellate modification addressed timing/termination and required return of unused funds.

Practice implications (for family law practitioners)
- When alleging diminution of a nonmarital asset, develop and introduce direct evidence tying nonpayment to asset value loss (appraisals, payoff/foreclosure timelines, bank records).
- Preserve and quantify retirement plan contributions (pay stubs, TSP statements, employer records) to support marital vs. nonmarital allocation.
- When seeking a 503(g) trust, expressly address trustee neutrality, court oversight, termination date, and disposition of surplus to avoid later appellate modification.
- Use temporary orders and stipulations carefully (e.g., release of funds) to prevent unintended loss (foreclosure, inability to redeem) during pendency of proceedings.
- Note: decision filed under Rule 23 (nonprecedential except as allowed by Rule 23[e][1]).