Jamar v. Jamar, 1800

Decision Date09 March 1992
Docket NumberNo. 1800,1800
Citation417 S.E.2d 615,308 S.C. 265
CourtSouth Carolina Court of Appeals
PartiesAndre JAMAR, Respondent, v. Irene Dubuisson JAMAR, Appellant. . Heard

Jeffrey A. Merriam, Greenville, for appellant.

Robert M. Ariail, Greenville, for respondent.

SHAW, Judge:

This is a domestic action, following a divorce of the parties, in which the family court had before it the issues of equitable distribution, alimony, and attorney's fees. From an order of the trial judge awarding the wife $1,400 monthly alimony and equitably dividing the marital property, the wife, Irene Dubuisson Jamar, appeals. We reverse and remand.

The record reveals the following facts. The parties are natives of Belgium and were married there on December 6, 1973, this being a second marriage for both. Around 1983, they moved to the United States where the husband was employed by International Marketing Consultants, a closely held corporation in which he is the sole stockholder. The husband's job requires him to travel extensively throughout the world and the wife accompanied him on most of these trips, entertaining clients and their families and attending to the needs of the husband. The trial judge found the parties enjoyed a high and comfortable standard of living throughout their marriage, staying in the best hotels and eating in the finest restaurants during the business trips. The parties separated in 1988 and were divorced July 6, 1989.

The trial judge found the husband had earned $40,000 annually from 1984 through 1988 and was capable of maintaining that level. He further found the husband, born in 1925, was in generally good health, while the wife, born in 1926, was not as she suffers from asthma, has a history of heart disease, and takes numerous medications for her health problems. He noted the wife receives a pension from the Belgian government of approximately $369 monthly and, although she has health insurance from the Belgian government, her medical expenses not covered by insurance are approximately $225 per month. He found the wife was not employable due to her age and health. He also found, in order for the wife to live in the lifestyle she was accustomed to, she needed support of $2,300 per month, but found the husband had the ability to pay alimony of $1,400 per month. He thus awarded the wife $1,400 monthly alimony stating, "Were it not for the division of property as set forth below, I would give a larger alimony award."

In dividing the marital property the trial judge stated as follows Considering all the relevant factors, a fair and equitable division of the property of the marriage would be for the [wife] to receive twenty-five percent (25%) of the following: Twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of the Club Forest Property (i.e. 25% of $220,000.00), twenty-five percent (25%) of Fripp Island $ 4 (i.e. 25% of $53,500.00), twenty-five percent (25%) of Fripp Island $ 5 (i.e. 25% of $39,900.00), twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of IMC (i.e. 25% of $55,000.00), twenty-five percent (25%) of personal bank accounts and mutual funds (i.e. 25% of $46,662.10) and twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of the stock portfolio as of the time of the separation of the parties (i.e. 25% of $32,000.00) with the above to be paid by the [husband] to the [wife] within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of this Order. The furniture in Belgium and in the United States shall be divided equally between the parties with the furniture in Belgium to be sold and divided equally between the parties and the furniture in Club Forest be (sic) divided in kind. Each party will receive the funds in his or her IRA account. The defendant shall retain her jewelry.

The trial judge valued the...

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6 cases
  • McElveen v. McElveen
    • United States
    • South Carolina Court of Appeals
    • September 14, 1998
    ...to be valued as of the date the marital litigation is filed or commenced. See S.C.Code Ann. § 20-7-473 (Supp.1997); Jamar v. Jamar, 308 S.C. 265, 417 S.E.2d 615 (Ct.App.1992). Here, Husband was bound by the terms of the 1987 stock purchase agreement at the time this litigation was commenced......
  • Dixon v. Dixon, 2940.
    • United States
    • South Carolina Court of Appeals
    • February 8, 1999
    ...("Marital property is valued as of the date of the filing of the complaint."), cert. denied (March 6, 1997); Jamar v. Jamar, 308 S.C. 265, 267, 417 S.E.2d 615, 616 (Ct.App.1992) ("The proper date to value marital property is the time the marital litigation is filed or commenced."). There is......
  • Bowers v. Bowers
    • United States
    • South Carolina Court of Appeals
    • February 25, 2002
    ...("Marital property is valued as of the date of the filing of the complaint.") (citations omitted); Jamar v. Jamar, 308 S.C. 265, 267, 417 S.E.2d 615, 616 (Ct.App.1992) ("The proper date to value marital property is the time the marital litigation is filed or commenced.") (citation Initially......
  • Fuller v. Fuller
    • United States
    • South Carolina Court of Appeals
    • September 11, 2006
    ...marital litigation is commenced. Fields v. Fields, 342 S.C. 182, 186, 536 S.E.2d 684, 686 (Ct.App.2000); see Jamar v. Jamar, 308 S.C. 265, 267, 417 S.E.2d 615, 616 (Ct.App.1992) ("The proper date to value marital property is the time the marital litigation is filed or commenced."). However,......
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1 books & journal articles
  • § 13.03 Miscellaneous Equitable Distribution Issues
    • United States
    • Full Court Press Divorce, Separation and the Distribution of Property Title CHAPTER 13 The Divorce Action
    • Invalid date
    ...133 (1988). Cf., N.Y. Dom. Rel. L. § 236B(4)(b). South Carolina: Gardner v. Gardner, 368 S.C. 134, 628 S.E.2d 37 (2006); Jamar v. Jamar, 308 S.C. 265, 417 S.E.2d 615 (1992); Smith v. Smith, 294 S.C. 194, 363 S.E.2d 404 (1987) (The court noted that appreciation in value of a marital asset af......

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