In the Matter of the Marriage of Maurice J. Bresnaha, III and Kathleen M. Bresnahan

Port Orchard, Washington family law attorneys represented the parties divorce and division of property.



Kathleen M. and Maurice J. Bresnahan III1 married in 1992 and separated in 2014. In 2015, the trial court entered a decree dissolving their marriage, and the parties divided their property by settlement agreement, which the trial court adopted. In 2017, the parties reached another agreement and entered a stipulation to distribute funds Maurice had failed to previously disclose.

In 2018, Kathleen moved to vacate the decree and the 2017 stipulation after discovering three additional accounts worth over $300,000 that were not disclosed during the parties' settlement negotiations. The trial court found that Maurice had misrepresented his assets and engaged in misconduct, and it ultimately vacated both the property distribution in the dissolution decree and the 2017 stipulation under CR 60(b)(4) and (11). The trial court awarded Kathleen attorney fees incurred in litigating this motion to vacate based on Maurice's intransigence.

We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it vacated the property division in the dissolution decree and the 2017 stipulation and order under CR 60(b)(4). We also hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it awarded Kathleen attorney fees based on Maurice’s intransigence. We affirm the trial court and award Kathleen reasonable attorney fees on appeal in an amount to be determined by a commissioner of this court.