## Facts

- In the 1980s, John C. Mason traveled from Indiana to Tennessee to stay with his first cousin, Bonnie F. Mason.
- John and Bonnie married in Tennessee in 1986.
- At the time, Indiana prohibited first-cousin marriages for couples under age 65 if entered into in Indiana, but Tennessee law allowed such marriages.
- About three months after marrying, John and Bonnie returned to Indiana and lived there as husband and wife, despite their apparent knowledge that Indiana would not have permitted the marriage to be contracted in-state.
- In 1991, John was convicted of murder and sentenced to the Indiana Department of Correction.
- During John’s incarceration, Bonnie received no significant funds from John but provided funds to support John’s two children from a prior marriage.
- Also during the incarceration period, Bonnie transferred certain assets from John into her name, and she became the beneficiary of four life-insurance policies on John’s life; the policies’ cash values were used to pay premiums.
- On January 10, 2000, John filed an Indiana action seeking annulment, asserting the marriage was void under Indiana Code § 31-11-8-3.
- On March 23, 2000, Bonnie answered and counterclaimed for dissolution, alleging the marriage was irretrievably broken.
- John failed to appear at trial on his annulment complaint; the trial court dismissed his annulment action for failure to prosecute, granted dissolution on Bonnie’s counterclaim, awarded Bonnie the four life-insurance policies as part of the property division, and ordered John to pay Bonnie attorney’s fees.
- John appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether Indiana was required to treat as void a first-cousin marriage validly celebrated in Tennessee, such that the trial court erred by dissolving the marriage instead of annulling it.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing John’s annulment complaint when he failed to appear at trial.
3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in the property distribution by awarding Bonnie four life-insurance policies on John’s life.
4. Whether the trial court lacked authority to award attorney’s fees on the theory that the marriage was void and attorney’s fees are available only in dissolution of a valid marriage.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed.
- Indiana recognized the Tennessee marriage as valid, so dissolution (not annulment) was a proper remedy.
- The trial court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing John’s annulment complaint for failure to prosecute based on his failure to appear.
- The trial court did not abuse its discretion by awarding Bonnie the four life-insurance policies in the property division.
- Because the marriage was treated as valid and properly dissolved, the trial court had authority to award Bonnie attorney’s fees.

## Legal Principles

- Indiana generally recognizes a marriage that is valid where celebrated, unless a statute or strong public policy clearly requires nonrecognition of the foreign marriage.
- A statute limiting who may contract a marriage within Indiana (such as Indiana’s first-cousin restriction) does not automatically render void a marriage validly contracted in another state.
- A trial court has discretion to dismiss a claim for failure to prosecute, including when the claimant fails to appear for trial; appellate review is for abuse of discretion.
- In dissolution proceedings, property division decisions are reviewed for abuse of discretion; an appellate court does not reweigh evidence or reassess witness credibility.
- Attorney’s fees may be awarded in dissolution proceedings within the trial court’s discretion; when the marriage is recognized as valid and dissolved, dissolution statutes governing fees apply.

## Conclusion

The Indiana Court of Appeals held that John and Bonnie’s first-cousin marriage, validly celebrated in Tennessee, was recognized as valid in Indiana, so the trial court properly dissolved the marriage rather than annulling it; the court also affirmed dismissal of John’s annulment complaint for failure to appear, upheld the award of the life-insurance policies to Bonnie in the property division, and upheld the award of attorney’s fees.


Mason v. Mason, 775 N.E.2d 706 (2002)