Riggs v. Riggs

• Citation: 124 N.C.App. 647,478 S.E.2d 211
• Decision Date: 03 December 1996
• Docket Number: No. COA95-1375,COA95-1375
• Parties: Ray Shafter RIGGS, Plaintiff, v. Ramona Askew RIGGS, Defendant.
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals

Page 211

478 S.E.2d 211

124 N.C.App. 647

Ray Shafter RIGGS, Plaintiff, v. Ramona Askew RIGGS, Defendant.

No. COA95-1375.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Dec. 3, 1996.

Nora Henry Hargrove, Wilmington, for plaintiff-appellant.

Johnson & Lambeth by Maynard M. Brown and Carter T. Lambeth, Wilmington, for defendant-appellee.

WALKER, Judge.

Prior to getting married on 25 May 1985, the plaintiff and defendant had been involved in a six and one-half year relationship, some part of which had been spent living together. The plaintiff filed suit seeking a divorce and equitable distribution. Following a hearing, the trial court ordered an unequal distribution of the marital estate in favor of the plaintiff. The plaintiff appeals from this order contending that the trial court erred in its classification of certain assets and debts as marital or separate.

The trial court has broad discretion in equitable distribution cases. In Lawing v. Lawing, 81 N.C.App. 159, 162, 344 S.E.2d 100, 104 (1986), this Court stated:

The General Assembly has committed the distribution of marital property to the discretion of the trial courts, and the exercise of that discretion will not be disturbed in the absence of clear abuse. Accordingly, the trial court's rulings in equitable distribution cases receive great deference and may be upset only if they are so arbitrary that they could not have been the result of a reasoned decision. The trial court's findings of fact, on which its exercise of discretion rests, are conclusive if supported by any competent evidence. The mere existence of conflicting evidence or discrepancies in evidence will not justify reversal. (Citations omitted.)

The trial court's determination "[a]s to whether property is marital or separate ... will not be disturbed on appeal if there is competent evidence to support the findings." Loving v. Loving, 118 N.C.App. 501, 507, 455 S.E.2d 885, 889 (1995)(citing Nix v. Nix, 80 N.C.App. 110, 112-13, 341 S.E.2d 116, 118 (1986)). Furthermore, "formal errors in an equitable distribution judgment do not require reversal, particularly where the record reflects a conscientious effort by the trial judge to deal with complicated and extensive evidence." Lawing, 81 N.C.App. at 163, 344 S.E.2d at 104.

The trial court is responsible for identifying and classifying the property as either marital or separate. Johnson v. Johnson, 114 N.C.App. 589, 591-92, 442 S.E.2d 533, 535 (1994). The burden of proof is as follows:

The burden of showing the property to be marital is on the party seeking to classify the asset as marital and the burden of showing the property to be separate is on the party seeking to classify the asset as separate.... The party claiming the property to be marital must meet her burden by showing by the preponderance of the evidence that the property: (1) was "acquired by either spouse or both spouses;" and (2) was acquired "during the course of the marriage;" and (3) was acquired "before the date of separation of the parties;" and (4) is "presently owned."

Atkins v. Atkins, 102 N.C.App. 199, 206, 401 S.E.2d 784, 787-88 (1991) (citations omitted). Once the party claiming the property to be marital meets this burden, the party claiming the property to be separate has the burden of showing by the preponderance of the evidence that the property is separate, i.e. acquired before the marriage or acquired by gift, devise, descent or bequest during the marriage. Id.

The plaintiff first assigns as error the classification of the marital residence as marital property. The plaintiff testified that he purchased the marital home shortly after the marriage by making an $18,000.00 down payment with his separate funds. However, the defendant testified that a portion of the down payment was in fact her funds.

The trial court found that, while an agreement to purchase this property was entered into before the marriage and it was acquired in plaintiff's name, the contention that it should be classified as plaintiff's separate property was not supported by the greater weight of the evidence. Instead, the trial court found that the property was paid for with marital funds. It appears that the trial court weighed and considered all the evidence and found the defendant's evidence more credible. Thus, the plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proof and the first assignment of error is overruled.

The plaintiff next assigns as error the trial court's determination that the Eagle Ridge lot (a tract of land and mobile home) was marital property. We disagree.

The Eagle Ridge property was conveyed by warranty deed to the plaintiff by his son and daughter-in-law during the marriage. After the separation, the plaintiff then reconveyed the property to his son and himself. The trial court then found:

Husband has failed to carry his burden to show that the conveyance was intended as a separate gift or trust. The court finds that full title was conveyed to husband during marriage, he had full power to control and dispose of the property during marriage, and in fact conveyed an interest in the property back to his son (but not son's wife) while this equitable distribution claim was pending. He has failed to carry his burden to establish a separate interest. On the date of separation, the court finds that the property was marital and that the fair market value of the lot and mobile home was $20,575.00

The defendant met her burden of showing that the Eagle Ridge property was marital in that it was acquired by one of the spouses, during the marriage, before separation and was presently owned...