Bowlden v. Bowlden, 18508
| Decision Date | 28 June 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 18508,18508 |
| Parties | Phyllis M. BOWLDEN, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Taylor R. BOWLDEN, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Robert H. Remaklus, Cascade, for defendant-appellant.
Killen, Pittenger & Kerrick, Gregory C. Pittenger (argued), McCall, for plaintiff-respondent.
The parties, Taylor and Phyllis Bowlden, were married seventeen years prior to the dissolution of their marriage on June 28, 1988. Appellant began receiving old age Social Security benefits in March of 1981. These were not used as a primary source of income, but instead were deposited in various savings and checking accounts. Appellant claims these payments as his separate property, on the theory that the Idaho community property laws are preempted by the federal Social Security Act.
Before trial of the divorce action, the parties entered into a stipulation as follows:
Defendant claims as his sole and separate property a substantial amount of money for U.S. Social Security benefits, other than disability benefits, paid to him during the marriage. Plaintiff denies that such Social Security benefits heretofore paid are separate property and claims that such payments are community property.
In order to expedite the disposition of this case as early as possible, the parties, through their respective attorneys of record stipulate and agree to submit to the Court the following questions prior to trial, to-wit:
I
Are the Social Security benefits heretofore paid to the Defendant separate or community property?
II
What effect, if any, will the time that such Social Security benefits were earned by the Defendant, have upon the disposition or award of such Social Security benefits?
III
If such Social Security benefits or any part thereof are sole and separate property, may the Defendant claim the same by a "net worth" method or must the tracing method be used to identify specific assets that a party claims as separate property?
The parties further stipulate and agree that this Stipulation and the decision of the Court on the foregoing matters shall not prejudice the rights of either party to appeal, or otherwise.
Pursuant to the stipulation, the parties estimated the total amount of Social Security benefits received during the marriage. This fund, half held in trust by respondent pending the outcome of this appeal and the other half retained by appellant, does not represent the actual benefits received. Rather, this arrangement represents the parties' assumption that all Social Security benefits received during the marriage were not consumed during the marriage, but remain intact. The parties contemplate that if this Court declares the benefits to be community property, then respondent will retain half; and if the benefits are determined to be separate property, then the case will revert to the trial court in order to trace the funds and determine the final allocation between the parties.
The magistrate held that Idaho's community property laws were not preempted by the Social Security Act in this context, and that the benefits were community property. The district court, in its appellate capacity, affirmed the magistrate's decision. The Court of Appeals disagreed and reversed the district court.
Although the pleadings and briefs of the parties in this case do not specifically declare the nature of the relief they are seeking, the form of this action is essentially a request for a declaratory judgment. I.C. § 10-1201. It is a request for the Court to declare the rights of the respective parties in a certain fund.
This Court has previously stated that "[a]s a general rule, a declaratory judgment can only be rendered in a case where an actual or justiciable controversy exists." Harris v. Cassia County, 106 Idaho 513, 516, 681 P.2d 988, 991 (1984). The Harris court adopted the federal standard, set forth by the United States Supreme Court, for determining whether a justiciable state of facts exists:
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