WAYNE F. ITALIANE, APPELLANT,
v.
JOANNE G. ITALIANE, APPELLEE
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The court held that the wife failed to establish her legal entitlement to the husband's entire interest in the Jefferson County property and that the husband may be entitled to special equity in the marital home, requiring further valuation.
[1] A trial court may award special equities in real property acquired during a marriage, but the party claiming such equity must establish their entitlement.
[2] A party seeking special equity in jointly titled property purchased with a mix of joint funds, third-party loans, and individual contributions must demonstrate their spec…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe parties divorced after a stormy marriage. The trial court awarded the wife the husband's equity in jointly purchased Jefferson County property and…
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DAUKSCH, Judge.
This is an appeal from a Final Judgment in a dissolution case and essentially concerns itself with the award of special equities in real property. We reverse in part and affirm in part.
The marriage entered into in 1972 was dissolved four years later almost to the day. It was apparently a stormy marriage which ended in physical combat just prior to the dissolution. As a result of the combat the wife incurred physical injury for which the court ordered the husband to pay to the wife $300 as a contribution toward her medical expenses. This was a proper award and we affirm that portion of the Judgment.
During the marriage the parties acquired interest in two parcels of real estate. The Jefferson County property interest was purchased jointly and titled jointly. The down payment was $6,000, $2,200 of which came from a joint savings account, $2,500 of which came from a loan by the wife’s father, and the remaining $1,300 borrowed by the parties from a finance company.
The record does not disclose the value of the property. But the court awarded the wife the husband’s equity in the property because the wife was bound to pay her father the $2,500 he had loaned toward the purchase price. There was no determination as to who was responsible to pay the $1,300 to the finance company so it is assumed the parties are jointly and severally liable for that portion of the down payment. Also, it is remembered that $2,200 of the down payment was from joint funds. For these reasons the wife has failed to establish that she is legally entitled to the husband’s entire interest in the property and the court erred in so ordering.
During the marriage the parties lived in a home on 45th Street in Lighthouse Point, which home was purchased from the separate funds of the wife and was her property. The husband claims special equity in this real property because he performed certain labor to make improvements and paid for the materials to improve the property. Further, he signed a promissory note secured by a mortgage on the marital residence binding himself to pay $50,000 in the event the requirements of the mortgage were not met. He did this on the assurance from his wife that she was going to convey a one-half interest in the property. She never conveyed that interest to him.
Additionally, the wife has filed a real property arrangement under Chapter XII of the Federal Bankruptcy Act and placed the marital home in the arrangement which may leave the husband solely liable on the note. The contribution the husband made toward the marital residence by the provision of $6,000 in labor and materials and his becoming jointly or solely obligated on the $50,000 note should be recognized in the Final Judgment. But this court is unable to establish the amount of the special equity to which the husband is entitled since the value of the property is not provided in the record, nor is the outcome of the bankruptcy proceeding known. The Final Judgment does not concern itself with the debts of the parties and establish the respective obligations of the parties as to jointly owed debts. For instance, the husband may be entitled to a $1,300 special equity in the Jefferson County property if he is the only one obligated to pay that amount or is the one who has paid it.
This cause is remanded for the trial court to establish the amount of special equity in the marital domicile to which the husband is entitled on account of his $6,000 contribution and his $50,000 obligation taking into consideration the value of the property. It is further remanded for the trial court to establish the equity to which the wife and the husband are entitled on account of their joint and individual contributions made and obligations incurred in purchase of the Jefferson County real property interest after the present value is es tablished. It is further remanded for the court to determine the amount of the joint debts of the parties and order one or the other of the parties to pay the said debts taking into consideration the equities established as required above and the other considerations the law may require. The case of Ball v. Ball, 335 So. 2d 5 (Fla.1976) is not applicable here because the dissolution proceedings herein were instituted before that opinion became final. This cause is remanded for the establishment of the special equities and debts and the Judgment is affirmed in all other respects.
REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART, AND REMANDED.
DOWNEY, J., and GREEN, OLIVER L., Jr., Associate Judge, concur.
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Gallardo v. Gallardo, 593 So. 2d 522 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…rsonal property, we direct the trial court, upon remand, to conduct further proceedings on this matter. § 61.075, Fla.Stat. (1989).6 Likewise, the trial court erred in neglecting to distribute the marital liabilities. § 61-075; Italiane v. Italiane, 342 So. 2d 1003, 1005 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). We find no merit to the remaining issues on cross-appeal. Affirmed in part; reversed in part; remanded with directions. . The trial court made additional rulings regarding matters that are not at issue in this appeal.…
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Creel v. Creel, 378 So. 2d 1251 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…t is incumbent upon the trial court, in determining on whose shoulders the debts of the marriage should fall, to consider carefully the various equities of the parties as established by the evidence. See the principle stated in Italiane v. Italiane, 342 So. 2d 1003, 1005 (Fla.4th DCA 1977). II. The wife’s cross-appeal urges error in the trial court’s failure to award permanent instead of rehabilitative alimony. There have been cases before this court in which we have found that the evidence did not support r…
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Gratton v. Gratton, 358 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)…as not an abuse of discretion. In view of the disclosed facts bearing thereon we hold no reason in law has been shown to disturb the special equity award to the husband. See Poston v. Poston, 332 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Italiane v. Italiane, 342 So. 2d 1003 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). It was argued strenuously on behalf of the wife that the circumstances of the case were such that an award of permanent alimony should have been made, and that it was an abuse of discretion not to do so and instead to award reh…
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- Shannon v. State, 335 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 1976)