## Facts

- Donald Lewis (husband) and Anne/Annie Lewis (wife) separated before any divorce petition was filed.
- The parties entered into a private separation agreement intended to be incorporated into the divorce decree, setting out how their property would be divided.
- Donald filed for divorce in Kansas and asked the court to incorporate the agreement into the decree.
- The trial court reviewed the agreement as part of the divorce proceedings.
- To make the property division fair, the trial court added a requirement that Donald pay Annie $150 per month for three years.
- The trial court stated the added payments were meant to offset Donald’s retirement income and to divide the parties’ total property fairly.
- Donald appealed, arguing the trial court improperly modified the parties’ private agreement by ordering what he described as “future support payments.”

## Issues

1. Whether, before incorporating a separation/property-settlement agreement into a divorce decree, a Kansas trial court may reject or change the agreement’s terms to achieve a fair, just, and equitable division of property.
2. Whether the order requiring Donald to pay Annie $150 per month for three years was improper “future support” inconsistent with the parties’ agreement, or a permissible part of the property division (including retirement-related value).

## Decision

- The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed the divorce decree.
- The trial court’s approval of a separation agreement is required before the agreement can be incorporated into the decree; until approved and incorporated, the court may require changes needed for a fair property division.
- The $150-per-month payments for three years were treated as part of the property division—an equalizing payment tied to Donald’s retirement income—rather than an award of future support.

## Legal Principles

- A separation agreement in a divorce case is subject to trial-court review; it is not automatically binding as the court’s judgment.
- A trial court’s approval of a separation agreement is a prerequisite to incorporating it into the divorce decree.
- Once a fair separation agreement is approved and incorporated, it merges into the decree and becomes a judgment of the court; property divisions generally are not subject to later change absent statutory authority or party consent.
- When deciding whether to approve an agreement for incorporation, the trial court may refuse to accept the agreement as submitted and may include terms required to produce a fair, just, and equitable property division.
- Periodic, time-limited payments may be classified as property division when the record shows they serve to equalize the distribution of marital property, including value connected to retirement income, rather than to provide ongoing support.

## Conclusion

Lewis v. Lewis holds that a Kansas divorce court, before incorporating a separation agreement into the divorce decree, may require adjustments needed to reach a fair property division. Because the trial court added the three-year, $150-per-month payments as an equalizing component of the property settlement tied to the husband’s retirement income, the Court of Appeals affirmed and rejected the claim that the trial court impermissibly ordered future support in violation of the parties’ agreement.


Lewis v. Lewis, 603 P.2d 650 (1979)