Indiana

"This case presents a recurring problem for trial and appellate courts, namely, what should be the decisional standard for dividing a part of the marital estate when the parties by agreement have divided the balance," Judge James S. Kirsch wrote for the unanimous panel.

What we have now for law in these situations is this:

"We hold that, in the absence of an agreement of the parties to the contrary, where the parties divide between themselves a part of the marital estate and leave the division of the balance to the discretion of the trial court, the trial court should assume that the property that the parties have already divided was divided justly and reasonably and shall divide the remainder ... as if they were the entirety of the marital estate," Judge Kirsch wrote.