Jacobs v. Jacobs

• Decision Date: 05 January 1951
• Citation: 50 So.2d 169
• Parties: JACOBS v. JACOBS.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 169

50 So.2d 169

JACOBS v. JACOBS.

Supreme Court of Florida, en Banc.

Jan. 5, 1951.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 12, 1951.

Sam Bucklew, Tampa, for appellant.

Fowler, White, Gillen, Yancey & Humkey, Tampa, and Robert H. Wrubel and Edward Garfield, New York City, for appellee.

CHAPMAN, Justice.

It appears by the record in this case that the parties hereto married on April 18, 1912, and two children were born to the union, to-wit, a daughter, Louise Jacobs, during the year 1915, and a son, John Jacobs, III, in 1920. The daughter Louise married a Mr. Phelps and died during the year 1941, leaving a daughter then one year of age, to-wit, Dorothea Louise Phelps. This child, since the death of her mother in 1941, has resided with its grandmother, to-wit, Dorothea D. G. Jacobs. The son, John Jacobs, III, is over twenty-one years of age. The parties to this suit, as reflected by the record, cohabited together continuously as husband and wife from 1912 until 1939, when unhappy differences arose and the parties at that time discontinued cohabitation. On June 6, 1950, John Jacobs filed a suit for divorce against his wife, Dorothea D. G. Jacobs, in the Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, Florida. The wife filed an answer to the bill of complaint of her husband and a counterclaim against her husband, praying for temporary and permanent alimony commensurate with the station in life of the parties; likewise suit money, traveling expenses, an allowance for counsel fees and a further allowance for counsel fees reasonable in amount to be awarded on final hearing.

The record discloses that after the marriage in 1912, the husband began the accumulation of an estate by making investments in his own name and in the names of others and in the names of different corporations. The husband invested in stocks, bonds, lands, etc., and possessed large property holdings in the several States of the Union and in the Dominion of Canada. In the year 1931 his then estate was augmented in value by an inheritance in a sum in excess of $3,500,000.00 from an aunt. The wife alleged that the plaintiff husband, in 1939, was the owner of an estate worth not less than $5,000,000.00 and the exact value being unknown but the stocks and bonds and other assets of the estate increased immensely in value and the value thereof far exceeds $5,000,000.00, and his annual income, rents and profits amount in the course of a year's time to several hundred thousand dollars.

The answer of the wife recites and alleges that in order for her to maintain herself in her present standard of living it is necessary for her to have additional tax-free income of more than $25,000.00 per year and if based upon the present income tax laws and the present gross income from trust, of which she is now a beneficiary provided by her husband her total income, before the payment of income taxes, must total not less than $100,000.00 per annum, which would necessitate the husband plaintiff making provisions for her additional income, after income tax deductions, of not less than $65,000.00 per year. It is admitted that the husband, continuously since the separation in 1939 has made financial provision for the wife's support and maintenance, but in her answer and counterclaim she requests the court to decree additional allowances over and above the amounts voluntarily supplied by the husband since separation and prior to the filing of his suit for divorce.

The pleadings reflect that for a period of time prior to the separation in 1939 they lived in a home situated near the City of Philadelphia valued at approximately $500,000. The property consisted of 38 acres of land with a home of about forty rooms. They hired twelve servants to maintain it. The parties owned and maintained a palatial Summer residence consisting of approximately twenty rooms at Watch Hill, Rhode Island. They operated at least six automobiles for their personal and pleasure driving. They owned show horses and exhibited them at various places in the County. Thousands of dollars were expended annually in providing entertainment. They traveled extensively in other Countries and enjoyed social contacts within the top social strata of society in many Countries of the world. Large sums of money were annually expended for clothing, jewelry and furs. Since the separation in 1939 the wife has not been able to maintain these social contacts according to her station in life because of inadequate allowance of support funds on the part of her husband.

The husband alleges that he has made ample and substantial allowances for his wife's support and maintenance since separation in 1939 to the following extent:

(1) Creation of an irrevocable trust of $1,000,000 for in plaintiff, from which she receives the entire income and she has so received the entire income for the last fifteen years, and will continue to receive said income for the duration of her life;

(2) The gift by the plaintiff to the defendant of over $60,000.00 in gilt-edge securities in 1939 and prior thereto;

(3) Gift of the home at Bryn Maur, Pa., valued at $500,000.00 exclusive of furnishings;

(4) Gift to the defendant of Summer home at Watch Hill, R. I., valued at $150,000.00;

(5) A Rivet Company in Ohio producing income of $12,000.00 annually, which income defendant received;

(6) Jewelry, diamonds and precious stones, valued at, and insured for, $100,000.00; and

(7) Contributions by the plaintiff to the defendant of an average of $5,600.00 per year for the past eight years for the support and maintenance of a grandchild now living with the defendant.

The answer and counterclaim of the wife fixes the value of her husband's estate at approximately $15,000,000.00. She alleges that she has no property or sufficient income with which to support or maintain herself or with which to defend the suit for divorce brought against her by her husband. She prays for an annual allowance of $100,000.00 for permanent alimony. The suit brought against her by her husband will necessitate extensive travel from her home in the City of New York to Tampa, Florida, and suggests traveling expenses in the sum of not less than $15,000.00 should be decreed to her. Likewise, counsel fees, both temporary and permanent, should be decreed to her for the defense of her husband's suit in a sum of not less than $100,000.00. The husband's pleadings recite that he owns a substantial estate valued at between two and three million dollars. He admits that he is now financially able and now willing to pay all installments of alimony that the Court may decree to the wife and all reasonable and just costs and attorney's fee necessary for her to defend against his suit for divorce.

On motion of counsel for the wife, after the pleadings were at issue, the Court below, on August 22nd, 1950, entered an order requiring the husband to produce certain instrument and documents as follows:

(1) Full and complete copies of the income tax returns made by the plaintiff to the United States Government for the years 1947, 1948 and 1949, together with full and complete copies of all data and accounts submitted to the Government with the...