Rivera v. Rivera
| Docket Number | 3D22-1914 |
| Decision Date | 02 August 2023 |
| Parties | Irving D. Rivera, Appellant, v. Angelica Marie Rivera, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Stacy D Glick, Judge Lower Tribunal No. 19-23517
Fournier Law, PLLC, and Gena D. Fournier (Tallahassee), for appellant.
No appearance, for appellee.
Before HENDON, GORDO and LOBREE, JJ.
Irving D. Rivera ("Husband") appeals from a final judgment of dissolution of marriage and equitable distribution of marital assets. We reverse in part and remand for recalculation of equitable distribution.
The parties were married in 2016, and separated in 2018. They have a minor child, born in 2017. Angelica Marie Rivera ("Wife") filed for dissolution of marriage in October 2019. Prior to, or during the pendency of the dissolution action, the Husband inherited a house from his grandmother, who died in 2013, but he did not receive control over the house until the estate closed in 2018. The Wife was not identified on the deed, never resided in the house, did not contribute to the house maintenance, and there is no evidence in the record that marital funds were used to pay down the mortgage.
The Husband moved into the house, and because he was out of work the house went into foreclosure. The record shows that during the pendency of the dissolution proceedings, the Husband was able to sell the house, netting about $140,000. There is no evidence in the record that the Husband commingled those funds with any marital funds. The Husband then used the proceeds of the sale to purchase a property for his mother and placed it in her name. He also purchased a used vehicle worth $12,500 for his own use, after the Wife junked the Husband's vehicle during the pendency of the dissolution. The Husband did not declare the proceeds from the sale of the inherited property in any financial disclosure statement because he believed that inherited property was a non-marital asset.
The Wife argued that she is entitled to half of the sale proceeds because the Husband sold the property during the pendency of the dissolution, the sale was a violation of the status quo order, and the court should sanction the Husband by converting a non-marital asset into a marital asset subject to equitable distribution.
At the dissolution hearing, the trial court heard testimony from both parties. At the end of the hearing, the trial court agreed that the inherited property was non-marital, but concluded that once the Husband sold the property, those proceeds and any assets purchased with those proceeds became marital property subject to equitable distribution.[1]
In making its equitable distribution findings, the trial court - among other findings - apportioned fifty percent of the proceeds from the inherited house to the Wife as a marital asset, as well as fifty percent of the value of the used car purchased with the house sale proceeds. The Husband filed a timely motion for rehearing alleging error in the trial court's classification of the value of the real property and vehicle as marital assets. The trial court denied the motion, and the Husband appeals from the Final Judgment.
We review de novo a trial court's legal conclusion that an asset is marital or non-marital. Smith v. Smith, 971 So.2d 191, 194 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007); Dravis v. Dravis, 170 So.3d 849, 852 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015) (). "The standard of review of a trial court's determination of equitable distribution is abuse of discretion." Viscito v. Viscito, 214 So.3d 736, 737 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (citing Bardowell v. Bardowell, 975 So.2d 628, 629 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)).
Section 61.075(3), Florida Statutes, requires that:
In any contested dissolution action wherein a stipulation and agreement has not been entered and filed, any distribution of marital assets or marital liabilities shall be supported by factual findings in the judgment or order based on competent substantial evidence with reference to the factors enumerated in subsection (1).
§ 61.075(3), Fla. Stat. (2017); Rodriguez v Rodriguez, 994 So.2d 1157, 1160 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) .
Under Florida's equitable distribution statute, marital assets include "[a]ssets acquired . . . during the marriage, individually by either spouse or jointly by them." §61.075(6)(a)(1)(a). Non-marital assets, which are not subject to equitable distribution, include "[a]ssets acquired . . . by either party prior to the marriage, and assets acquired . . . in exchange for such assets . . . ." §61.075(6)(b)(1). Distefano v. Distefano, 253 So.3d 1178, 1180 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018). Relevant to this appeal, non-marital assets also include "assets acquired separately by either party by noninterspousal gift, bequest, devise or descent." § 61.075(5)(b)(2), Fla. Stat. (2004) (emphasis added).
In this case, the property that the Husband inherited was non-marital. The trial court erroneously concluded that once the Husband sold the non-marital property during the marriage or during the pendency of the dissolution, those proceeds became marital property subject to equitable distribution, relying on section 61.075(6)(a)(1)(a) setting forth that marital assets include "[a]ssets acquired . . . during the marriage, individually by either spouse or jointly by them." Applying the same reasoning, the trial court concluded that the used Toyota Camry that the Husband purchased with proceeds from sale of the non-marital house became a marital asset because those proceeds were acquired by him during the marriage, while the dissolution was pending, and in violation of the standing status quo order.
The general rule of when non-marital assets may become marital assets was laid out in Dravis v. Dravis, 170 So.3d 849, 852 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015):
To continue reading
Request your trial