Cable v. Cable
| Decision Date | 16 July 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 8414DC1052,8414DC1052 |
| Citation | 76 N.C.App. 134,331 S.E.2d 765 |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Gail CABLE (Barham) v. James Michael CABLE. |
Maxwell, Freeman, Beason & Morano, P.A. by Robert A. Beason and Mark R. Morano, Durham, for plaintiff-appellant.
Clayton, Myrick & McClanahan by Robert D. McClanahan, Durham, for defendant-appellee.
In her sole assignment of error on appeal, plaintiff contends the trial court erred in deciding that the parties' homeplace was not marital property. Plaintiff does not contend that the 2.3 acre lot itself is not defendant's separate property. Rather, she contends that because she made substantial contributions to the improvement of defendant's separate property, that the improvement (the house itself) is marital property. Defendant counters this argument by asserting that under the language of G.S. 50-20(c)(8), the trial judge can consider any improvements made by the plaintiff upon defendant's separate property, and can award her a greater share of other marital assets because of these improvements, but that plaintiff's improvements on the lot do not change the status of this property or any improvements made thereon as the separate property of defendant. Defendant argues that a declaration that improvements made to separate property during the course of the marriage become marital property would render G.S. 50-20(c)(8) meaningless. We reject defendant's contention in this regard, and accordingly vacate the judgment from which this appeal was taken.
This Court, in Wade v. Wade, 72 N.C.App. 372, 325 S.E.2d 260, disc. rev. denied, 313 N.C. 612, 330 S.E.2d 616 (1985), addressed a similar issue. In Wade, the plaintiff husband owned land which was titled solely in his name prior to the marriage. A house was constructed on this land during the marriage with marital funds. The husband asserted that since the unimproved real property was acquired by him prior to the marriage, it would be considered separate in character. Therefore, any improvements to his land, such as the house, merely constituted an increase in the value of the property and must also be considered separate as mandated by G.S. 50-20(b)(2) which provides "[t]he increase in value of separate property ... shall be considered separate property."
In rejecting this argument, this Court noted the remedial nature of G.S. 50-20 and held that this provision referred only to "passive" appreciation, such as inflation, and not to "active" appreciation resulting from contributions, monetary or otherwise, by one or both of the spouses. After noting that the house and land are one asset, the Court held that "the real property concerned herein must be characterized as part separate and part marital," with the land being considered separate property, and the house, which was...
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Johnson v. Johnson, 471PA85
...classification of property by the trial judge is the first step of the three-step equitable distribution procedure. Cable v. Cable, 76 N.C.App. 134, 137, 331 S.E.2d 765, 767, disc. rev. denied, 315 N.C. 182, 337 S.E.2d 856 (1985). If, as the majority opinion below suggests, § 52-4 were cont......
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Conway v. Conway
...v. Seifert, 82 N.C.App. 329, 346 S.E.2d 504 (1986), affirmed and remanded, 319 N.C. 367, 354 S.E.2d 506 (1987); Cable v. Cable, 76 N.C.App. 134, 331 S.E.2d 765 (1985). In valuing an asset, the trial judge finds the fair market value and reduces it by any encumbrances on that property. Carls......
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Armstrong v. Armstrong
...the trial court must follow a three step procedure: (1) classification; (2) evaluation; and (3) distribution. See Cable v. Cable, 76 N.C.App. 134, 137, 331 S.E.2d 765, 767, disc. rev. denied, 315 N.C. 182, 337 S.E.2d 856 (1985). Since we have determined the marital classification of defenda......
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Seifert v. Seifert, 8612DC2
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