DEBRA J. SIEGEL, APPELLANT,
v.
FRANKLIN J. SIEGEL, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2007-10-10
No. 3D06-961
Before WELLS and CORTINAS, JJ., and FLETCHER, Senior Judge.
967 So. 2d 349 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2007) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Debra Siegel appeals a dissolution of marriage judgment, challenging the trial court's determination that a brokerage account titled solely in her former husband Franklin's name constitutes non-marital property. The court affirms, holding that annual gifts from Mr. Siegel's mother, deposited into a separately maintained account with no commingling or marital effort, remain non-marital assets despite Mr. Siegel's vague statements about future use for family purposes.


Holding

The account is non-marital property. Under Florida Statute § 61.075(5)(b)(2), assets acquired by noninterspousal gift are non-marital assets by definition. The donee's actions in maintaining the account separately, avoiding commingling with marital funds, and expending no marital effort demonstrate an intent for the property to remain non-marital, which outweighs vague statements about possible future use.


Headnotes

[1] Assets acquired separately by either party by noninterspousal gift are non-marital assets.

[2] A non-marital gift remains non-marital when placed into a separate account, with no other funds deposited, and the account is never intermingled with the parties' other f…

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Section 61.075 governing distribution of property in dissolution actions expressly requires trial courts to determine whether assets are marital or non-marital and to segregate to each party his or her non-marital assets”

Establishes the statutory framework requiring separation and proper classification of marital versus non-marital property

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

The parties married in 1981 and divorced after 22 years. During the marriage, Mr. Siegel's mother gave him annual $10,000 birthday gifts from 1989 to …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
WELLS, Judge.

WELLS, Judge.

Debra J. Siegel appeals from a final judgment of dissolution of marriage claiming that the trial court erred in determining that an account titled solely in the name of her former husband, Franklin J. Siegel, was non-marital property. Because we agree that the account is a non-marital asset, we affirm.

The parties were married on July 26, 1981, and are the parents of three children, all of whom attained majority before the marriage was dissolved. Mr. Siegel is a sole practitioner attorney who earned a modest living during the marriage; Mrs. Siegel worked periodically during the marriage and currently holds a masters degree in social work which she earned shortly before the marriage ended.

Without doubt, the parties lived comfortably, although modestly, during their marriage. After twenty-two years of marriage, the parties had acquired only three assets of significance: Mr. Siegel’s retirement account, valued at $39,000; a life insurance policy with a $24,500 cash value; and the marital home, with an equity value between $675,000 and $775,000. The only other asset owned by either party was a Vanguard brokerage account, valued at $223,000, titled in Mr. Siegel’s name alone.

The testimony regarding this account is not in dispute. Commencing in 1989, and continuing until 2003, Mr. Sie-gel’s mother, Roslyn, gave him a check in the amount of $10,000 each year as a birthday gift. These checks were payable solely to Mr. Siegel and stated “Happy Birthday” on them faces. Mr. Siegel deposited each of these checks into an account titled in his name alone — the Franklin J. Siegel R.S. Gift Account. The funds deposited into this account were never used by Mr. Siegel for any purpose, were not co-mingled with any marital funds, and were never traded or manipulated by Mr. Siegel in any manner. All increases in value of this account came solely from market increases or interest and dividend payments. Mrs. Siegel claims that this account was a marital asset, and that the trial court erred in declaring this account non-marital, because Mr. Siegel had told his accountant that the purpose of the account was to save for “their” future or retirement, for emergencies, and for expenses such as them daughters’ weddings. We find no error in the trial court’s conclusion regarding this asset.

Section 61.075 governing distribution of property in dissolution actions expressly requires trial courts to determine whether assets are marital or non-marital and to segregate to each party his or her non-marital assets and then distribute the marital assets:

(1) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage ... the court shall set apart to each spouse that spouse’s nonmarital assets and liabilities, and in distributing the parties’ marital assets and liabilities between the parties, the court must begin with the premise that the distribution should be equal....

§ 61.075(1), Fla. Stat. (2006); see also Riley v. Edwards-Riley, 963 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (“the trial court must set apart to each spouse that spouse’s nonmar-ital assets and liabilities and then distribute the marital assets and liabilities”); Green v. Green, 650 So. 2d 181, 182 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (remanding for the trial court to set aside the nonmarital assets and liabilities and then to equitably distribute the marital assets and liabilities); Green v. Green, 542 So. 2d 466, 467 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989) (confirming that non-marital assets should not be placed in the “marital asset pot” for distribution).

To facilitate the equitable distribution of assets, section 61.075 defines marital and non-marital assets and places within the definition of non-marital assets those assets “acquired separately by either party by noninterspousal gift.” § 61.075(5)(b)(2), Fla. Stat. (2006). Thus, without a doubt, the funds given to Mr. Siegel annually by his mother were non-marital assets.

We agree with the trial court that Mr. Siegel’s intent regarding the funds deposited into the Franklin J. Siegel R.S. Gift Account is evidenced by his actions in keeping this account titled in his name alone, in not commingling the funds in this account with marital funds, and in expending no marital efforts on this asset, and not by a never acted upon statement that he intended to use this account for “their”meaning his and Mrs. Siegel’s-retirement, for their daughters’ weddings, or to defray business expenses. “Obvious evidence of an intent that [a noninterspousal gift] remain non-marital arises where the non-marital property is placed into a separate account, no other funds are deposited into it, and the account is never intermingled with the parties’ other funds.” Lakin v. Lakin, 901 So. 2d 186, 190 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); see also Spielberger v. Spielberger, 712 So. 2d 835, 837 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (concluding that no presumption of gift arose as to non-marital funds placed in a joint account following marriage because the funds were traceable to a pre-marital source belonging solely to the husband; there had been no commingling with the marital funds; and the wife had never accessed the account). Mr. Siegel’s statements also do not evidence an actual enforceable gift to Mrs. Siegel.

We have previously outlined the principles used for determining whether there has been a valid gift:

It is well settled that to effectively pass title by gift there must be a surrender of dominion over the res, coupled with the intent then and there to pass title. In other words, there must be an immediate vesting of some interest in the donee, complete and irrevocable. If the donor withholds divestiture it is not a legal gift. A delivery which does not confer the present right to reduce the res into possession of the donee is insufficient.

Kuebler v. Kuebler, 131 So. 2d 211, 215 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961); see also Ritter v. Shamas, 452 So. 2d 1057 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); Winner v. Winner, 370 So. 2d 845 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). Accordingly, “a mere intention to give in the future, however well shown, gives rise to no obligation which the law will recognize or enforce.” In re Slawson’s Estate, 41 So. 2d 324, 327 (Fla.1949) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Rasmussen v. Rasmussen, 909 So. 2d 969, 970 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (emphasis added); see also Farrior v. Farrior, 736 So. 2d 1177, 1178-79 (Fla.1999) (stock kept in a safe deposit box which was neither traded nor intermingled with marital assets and which remained in the name of the original owner spouse, remained a non-marital asset even though it was used as collateral for joint debts); Lakin, 901 So. 2d at 191 (confirming that use of a portion of non-marital funds does not convert the remaining funds into a marital asset).

In this case, Mr. Siegel never used the Franklin J. Siegel R.S. Gift Account for any purpose and was careful to keep this asset separate from the couple’s marital assets. Although he may have intended to make a gift of some or all of the money in this account at some time in the future, he never actually made a gift of any part of it. Since we find no merit in any of the other issues raised by Mrs. Siegel with regard to this account, we affirm the trial court’s finding that the account at issue was a non-marital asset.

The final judgment under review is, therefore, affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Rodriguez v. Rodriguez, 994 So. 2d 1157 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
    …the former wife’s stocks were not subject to equitable distribution, notwithstanding the fact that the stocks were used as collateral for the couple’s joint debt, where no intermingling of marital and non-marital assets was found); Siegel v. Siegel, 967 So. 2d 349, 351 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (explaining that 61.075 requires that the trial court set apart each party’s nonmari- [*1160] tal assets prior to equitably distributing the parties’ marital assets); Dyer v. Dyer; 658 So. 2d 148, 149 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995) (hol…
  • Lord v. Lord, 220 So. 3d 575 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
    …band’s motions. In a marital dissolution action, section 61.075, Florida Statutes (2012), “expressly requires trial courts” to make specific written findings identifying, valuing, and distributing marital and non-marital property. Siegel v. Siegel, 967 So. 2d 349, 351 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); see also Patino v. Patino, 122 So. 3d 961, 963 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013); Whelan v. Whelan, 736 So. 2d 732, 733 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). While the procedural posture of this dissolution action was somewhat unique, the parties’ agreem…

Authorities Cited (12 total)

View all 12 cited authorities →

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw