Sylvester E. Harper v. Amaryllis M. Harper

CASE: Man appeals division of property judgment declaring the land to which he took equitable title before his marriage and the land be built upon it to be marital property.

FACTS: Husband purchased an unimproved piece of real estate the year before he married his wife. He began making payments before the marriage and finished making the payments after the marriage (with marital funds). Seventeen years later, he built a house on the land that was the marital residence. The wife's name was on the mortgage to the house and she was legally obligated under it, the husband made all the mortgage payments that came due on the marital residence. He also paid for all expenses and upkeep. According to the wife, the house was financed with the proceeds of another house, which was purchased with the proceeds of a gift to the couple from her parents. At all times, the land was solely in the man's name. At trial there was no precise accounting of the source of the funds. The court declared that the real property consisting of the lot with the marital residence upon it was marital property and ordered it sold with each party receiving one-half of the proceeds. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the chancery court's declaration that the lot and the hosue were martial property; husband appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals.

QUESTION: Did the chancery court err in declaring marital property the marital residence and the land upon which it was built where the land, which remained in the husband's name, was purchased by the husband before the marriage but paid off after the marriage and where the husband claims he was responsible for the mortgage payments and upkeep of the home but where the wife was legally obligated under the mortgage?

COURT SAYS: Affirms the Court of Special Appeals, finds for the wife.

HOLDING: When property is acquired by and expenditure of both marital and nonmarital property, the property is characterized as part nonmarital and part marital so that a spouse contributing nonmarital property is entitled to an interest in the property in the ratio of the nonmarital investment to the total nonmarital and marital investment in the property. When making an equitable distribution of the value of the marital property, the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary of each spouse, the value of the property interests of each spouse, and the effort expended by each spouse in accumulating the marital property, among other things, shall be considered.

RATIONALE:

• The spouse who contributed marital funds and the marital unit that contributed marital funds each receive a proportionate and fair return on their investment.

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