Marriage of Spawn and McGowan

¶1 Karen Arneson Spawn (Karen) petitioned for dissolution of her marriage to Daniel Wallace McGowan (Dan) in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County. Following a non-jury trial, the District Court entered Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and a Decree of Dissolution, dissolving the parties’ marriage and distributing all property. Karen appeals, and Dan cross-appeals from the District Court’s property distribution. We reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

¶2 Karen and Dan were married in 1989. They first separated in 1998; Karen…