CATHERINE D. BROADWAY, FORMER WIFE/APPELLANT,
v.
ERIC J. BROADWAY, FORMER HUSBAND/APPELLEE
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In this family law appeal, the former wife challenged the trial court's classification of a camper purchased by the former husband one week after separation as a non-marital asset. The appellate court reversed, holding that because the camper was purchased before the petition for dissolution was filed, it constituted a marital asset subject to equitable distribution under Florida law.
The camper should be classified as a marital asset subject to equitable distribution. The cut-off date for determining whether assets are marital or non-marital is the date of filing the petition for dissolution of marriage (July 26, 2011) when no valid separation agreement exists. Since the camper was purchased in early September 2010, before the petition was filed, it falls within the marital asset classification.
[1] Assets acquired after the date of separation but before the filing of a petition for dissolution of marriage are marital assets subject to equitable distribution, absent…
[2] The date for determining marital and non-marital assets in a dissolution of marriage proceeding is the earliest of the date of a valid separation agreement, another date…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“Marital assets are defined, inter alia, as "[a]ssets acquired ... during the marriage, individually by either spouse or jointly by them."”
Establishes the statutory definition of marital assets under Florida law.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties separated in early September 2010. The former husband purchased a 25-foot pull-behind camper during the week of separation. The former wif…
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Catherine D. Broadway, the former •wife, raises nine issues on appeal challenging the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage between herself and appellee, Eric J. Broadway, the former husband. We affirm the Final Judgment as to eight of the former wife’s issues without further discussion. We find merit, however, in one of the former wife’s issues and, as explained below, reverse and remand for further proceedings.
The record demonstrated that the parties separated in early September 2010, and that the former husband purchased a 25-foot pull-behind camper some time during the week the separation began. The former wife filed her petition for dissolution of marriage on July 26, 2011. In the equitable distribution portion of the Final Judgment, the trial court included the camper in the spreadsheet grid that it utilized to compile and allocate the assets subject to equitable distribution. The trial court ruled that the camper was acquired post-separation and was designated as a non-marital asset of which the former husband retained sole ownership. In this ruling the trial court erred.
Marital assets are defined, inter alia, as “[ajssets acquired ... during the marriage, individually by either spouse or jointly by them.” § 61.075(6)(a)l.a., Fla. Stat. (2011). Florida Statutes further provide:
The cut-off date for determining assets and liabilities to be identified or classified as marital assets and liabilities is the earliest of the date the parties enter *954into a valid separation agreement, such other date as may be expressly established by such agreement, or the date of the filing of a petition for dissolution of marriage. § 61.075(7), Fla. Stat. (2011). A trial court’s allocation of an asset as marital or non-marital for purposes of equitable distribution is reviewed de novo. Puskar v. Puskar, 29 So.3d 1201, 1203 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010).
Here, there is no evidence that the parties executed a valid separation agreement, either orally or in writing. Therefore, the date the former wife filed her petition for dissolution of marriage, July 26, 2011, would be the cut-off date used to determine whether assets were marital or non-marital. Both parties testified that the former husband purchased the pull-behind camper the week that he moved out of the former marital residence, which was in early September 2010. Because the camper was unquestionably acquired by the former husband before the petition for dissolution was filed, it should have been classified as a marital asset subject to equitable distribution.
Accordingly, we REVERSE in part and REMAND to allow the trial court to either classify the camper as a marital asset and restructure the equitable distribution accordingly, or provide adequate factual findings to support the designation of the camper as a non-marital asset. We AFFIRM the Final Judgment in all other respects.
VAN NORTWICK, PADOVANO, and ROWE, JJ., concur.
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Smith v. Jodie Bear Smith, 169 So. 3d 220 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)…ution scheme; we dismiss as premature Mr. Smith’s appeal of the award of attorney’s fees and costs. In all other aspects, we affirm. We review de novo a trial court’s determination of whether an asset is marital or nonmarital. Broadway v. Broadway, 132 So. 3d 953, 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014). Because the parties in this case did not enter into a marital settlement agreement, the applicable date for determining whether assets and liabilities are classified as marital or nonmarital is the date of the fifing of the…
Authorities Cited
- Williams v. Clay Elec. Coop., Inc., 29 So. 3d 1201 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)
- Puskar v. Puskar, 29 So. 3d 1201 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)