MARY F. RAZZANO, APPELLANT,
v.
VINCENT MARTIN RAZZANO, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1975-01-14
No. U-109
RAWLS, C. J., and BOYER, J., concur.
307 So. 2d 894 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1975) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 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

In this divorce case, the appellate court reversed the trial court's denial of the wife's claim to a special equity interest in a service station located in New York titled in the husband's name. The court affirmed the trial court's award of alimony, Bank of Belleview stock, and other assets, but found the trial court abused its discretion in excluding the service station from marital property division.


Holding

The wife is entitled to a one-half share of the service station as a special equity in marital property. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in modifying the alimony award from $750 per month permanent alimony to $600 per month as rehabilitative alimony for one year due to the husband's ill health. However, the wife should not share in the income from the service station until the temporary alimony payments terminate.


Headnotes

[1] A spouse may be entitled to a special equity in property titled in the other spouse's name when the spouse seeking the special equity has contributed to the acquisition o…

[2] A trial court abuses its discretion by failing to award a spouse a special equity in income-producing property acquired during the marriage, where the spouse contributed…

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Key Quotes

“The wife is entitled to a one-half share of this asset of the marriage.”

The court's holding that the wife has a special equity interest in the New York service station despite title being in the husband's name.

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Facts & Procedural History

The parties were married for 34 years, starting with nominal assets and a significant age difference (wife 21, husband 29 at marriage). During the mar…

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Opinion of the Court
McCORD, Judge.

McCORD, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final judgment of dissolution of marriage and an order modifying the final judgment.

The parties were married for 34 years prior to filing the petition for dissolution. At the time of the marriage, appellant was 21 years of age and appellee was 29. Each had only nominal assets; she was a high school graduate and he was employed by an oil company earning $75 per week. Three children were born of the marriage and all are now emancipated. During the course of the marriage, the parties prospered financially. They owned several businesses, some jointly and others the husband owned with other members of his family. The wife spent a great amount of time working in the operation of the businesses and in managing the home and looking after the children. They were both industrious and hard working. In this action the wife sought a special equity in property held in the husband’s name, permanent alimony, use of the jointly owned home of the parties and attorneys fees. Final judgment denied her prayer for special equity in the property of the husband located in the State of New York and in all other assets in the husband’s name with the exception that she was held to be entitled to a special equity in one-half of the stock of the parties in the Bank of Belleview, Florida. Prior to the final judgment, sixty-two shares of the stock were in the wife’s name and 1,865 shares were in the name of the husband.

The trial court awarded her 901 additional shares, which gave her a total of 963 shares and left him with a total of 964 shares. The court further awarded the wife $750 per month permanent alimony and ordered the husband to transfer his interest in a 1969 Chevrolet to her. In addition, the court awarded costs and attorneys’ fees to the wife’s attorneys. She was not granted use of the jointly owned home. Subsequently, on motion for rehearing, the trial court modified final judgment by reducing the alimony to $600 per month and limiting it to a period of one year as rehabilitative alimony because of ill health of the husband.

We have considered the record, briefs, oral arguments of the attorneys and approve the modification to require only rehabilitative alimony in the amount of $600 per month.

We find, however, that the trial court abused its discretion in not finding that the wife was entitled to a special equity of one-half interest in a service station (title to which is in the husband’s name) located in the State of New York and leased to Mobil Oil Company. This action was filed May 30, 1972. The husband’s financial statement of September 24, 1971, shows a net worth of $426,480.75, which included property jointly owned with his wife. The husband there listed the value of the New York service station to be $140,000. The wife is entitled to a one-half share of this asset of the marriage. Carlton v. Carlton, 78 Fla. 252, 83 So. 87; Windham v. Windham, 144 Fla. 563, 198 So. 202; Engebretsen v. Engebretsen, 151 Fla. 372, 11 So. 2d 322.

We note, however, that this New York service station is income property, the gross rental being approximately $437 per month. Until the temporary alimony payments terminate, the wife should not share in such income.

Reversed and remanded with directions to modify the final judgment in accordance herewith and to assess attorneys fees against appellee for appellant’s attorney for this appeal.

RAWLS, C. J., and BOYER, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Knoblock v. Paree W. Knoblock, 351 So. 2d 387 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)
    …lee wife of special equities in certain property held in the husband’s name alone, those properties having been acquired with funds withdrawn from a joint bank account to which both husband and wife substantially contributed. See Razzano v. Razzano, 307 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). AFFIRMED. ERVIN and MELVIN, JJ„ concur.…
  • Hoecker v. Hoecker, 426 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
    …d property, Green v. Green, 228 So. 2d 112 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969) or seek 100 percent ownership of jointly held property, Malk-emes v. Malkemes, 357 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). A spouse may establish special equity in real estate, Razzano v. Razzano, 307 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975) or in personal property, including corporate stock, Wollman v. Wollman, 235 So. 2d 315 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970). Once the claiming spouse has demonstrated evidence of special equity, then, in the third step of the Ball analysis, the ot…
  • Madge P. Ball v. Ball, 335 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 1976)
    …. 3d 1967) ; Allen v. Allen, 123 So. 2d 355 (Fla.App. 2d 1960). . See, e. g., Forde v. Forde, 152 Fla. 142, 10 So. 2d 919 (1942) ; Strauss v. Strauss, 148 Fla. 23, 3 So. 2d 727 (1941). . Section 689.15, Fla.Stat. (1973). . See Razzano v. Razzano, 307 So. 2d 894 (Fla.App. 1st 1975) (real property in husband’s sole name) ; Green v. Green, 228 So. 2d 112 (Fla.App. 3d 1969), cert. denied 237 So. 2d 538 (Fla.1970) (property in husband’s sole name and jointly held property) ; Tanner v. Tanner, 194 So. 2d 702 (Fl…

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