Tucker v. Tucker Case Brief

The parties married in June 1981 and separated in July 1988, with one child born of the marriage. In the months leading up to the separation, the wife (Donna Tucker) spent considerable time assisting her terminally ill sister-in-law, Sharon. After Sharon’s death, the wife went to Texas to assist another family member of the husband (James Tucker). Sharon’s widower, Dennis Babor, was also in Texas during this period, and he and the wife returned to Missouri together. The husband, having received reports of an involvement between his wife and Babor, confronted her. He testified she indicated a preference for Babor. The husband filed for dissolution the next day. Witnesses testified to observing the wife and Babor hugging and kissing passionately before the separation. The wife denied a pre-separation sexual relationship. The trial court found the wife guilty of unspecified marital misconduct that “directly contributed to the dissolution.” Marital assets were limited, primarily $12,000 equity in the home and a $4,000-$5,000 interest in the husband’s pension (not definitively established as divisible). The trial court awarded the husband virtually all marital property, including the home, pension, vehicles, and most furnishings. The husband himself had testified suggesting he was willing to pay the wife half the home equity over time.