Case Name: Nellie Lou SMITH, Appellant, v. John William SMITH, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2003-10-07
Citations: 856 So. 2d 717
Docket Number: No. 2002-CA-01657-COA
Parties: Nellie Lou SMITH, Appellant, v. John William SMITH, Appellee.
Judges: KING, P.J., BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE, AND CHANDLER, JJ., CONCUR.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 856
Pages: 717–721

Head Matter:
Nellie Lou SMITH, Appellant, v. John William SMITH, Appellee.
No. 2002-CA-01657-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
Oct. 7, 2003.
Deedy Boland, Tupelo, attorney for appellant.
C. Michael Malski, attorney for appellee.

Opinion:
MYERS, J.,
for the Court:
¶ 1. Nellie Lou Smith was granted a divorce from her husband, John William Smith, on the ground of desertion. She disagrees with the chancellor's equitable distribution of marital property and his decision regarding alimony. She appeals to this Court, stating the following issues for our consideration:
I. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR FAILED TO MAKE AN EQUITABLE DIVISION OF THE MARITAL ESTATE BY FAILING TO PROPERLY CLASSIFY CERTAIN ASSETS, FAILING TO PROPERLY VALUE CERTAIN ASSETS, AND FAILING TO MAKE SPECIFIC FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW RELATING TO APPLICABLE FERGUSON FACTORS.
II. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN FAILING TO AWARD PERIODIC ALIMONY TO NELLIE SMITH.
III. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN FAILING TO AWARD ATTORNEY'S FEES TO NELLIE SMITH.
Facts and Procedural History
¶ 2. John William Smith filed for divorce from Nellie Lou Smith on October 22, 1997. He cited grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment and adultery, or in the alternative, irreconcilable differences. Nellie Smith filed a counterclaim for divorce based on habitual cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment and adultery, or in the alternative, irreconcilable differences.
¶ 3. The chancellor found no basis for John to be granted a divorce for either habitual cruel and inhuman treatment or adultery. John's claim was denied. Nellie's divorce was granted on the ground of willful, continued, and obstinate abandonment for one year.
¶ 4. The chancellor listed the following items of property as in dispute: the marital home, several pieces of real estate, and several vehicles. Additionally, the Smiths had an IRA worth approximately $44,484, a thrift plan worth $20,646, a retirement plan that paid John $253.80 a month, and a credit union account worth $101.
¶ 5. Nellie was awarded the home and the 18.63 acres on which it sat, the 63/100 acre used to gain access to the homestead, a 55 acre tract, 2 acres purchased at a sheriffs sale, a 50% interest in the two retirement accounts, and a 1987 Toyota Supra. John received numerous items of personal property; 1990 Dodge truck, a 1990 Dodge van, a 1992 GMC truck, a 50% interest in the retirement plans, and the $253.80 he received a month from his retirement accounts.
¶ 6. The chancellor denied alimony to Nellie as well as attorney's fees.
I WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR FAILED TO MAKE AN EQUITABLE DIVISION OF THE MARITAL ESTATE BY FAILING TO PROPERLY CLASSIFY CERTAIN ASSETS, FAILING TO PROPERLY VALUE CERTAIN ASSETS, AND FAILING TO MAKE SPECIFIC FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW RELATING TO APPLICABLE FERGUSON FACTORS.
¶ 7-. The standard of review of all the issues presented is abuse of discretion. The chancellor is granted wide discretion in deciding domestic relations matters and we will reverse his decision only when his decision is shown to be manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous, or that he applied an incorrect legal standard. Barton v. Barton, 790 So.2d 169, 175(¶ 17) (Miss.2001) (citing Cummings v. Benderman, 681 So.2d 97, 100 (Miss.1996)).
¶ 8. In dividing the property of the divorcing couple, the chancellor must first classify their assets and liabilities as belonging to the marriage, to the husband, or to the wife. Hemsley v. Hemsley, 639 So.2d 909, 914 (Miss.1994). Once this is done, the chancellor must look to the factors set out by the supreme court in Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So.2d 921 (Miss.1994). The Ferguson factors are used to determine how to divide the marital assets between the divorcing couple.
¶ 9. The chancellor listed the assets of the Smiths according to who held legal title to them. He did not identify them as assets of the husband, of the wife, or of the marriage. The chancellor did then distribute the assets, assigning some that were titled in John's name, for example, to Nellie. However, without knowing what was marital property and what was the separate property of the spouses, we cannot fairly evaluate the equitable distribution. We therefore hold that the chancellor abused his discretion in classifying and distributing the assets of the marital estate.
II. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN FAILING TO AWARD PERIODIC ALIMONY TO NELLIE SMITH.
¶ 10. The factors to be considered when deciding whether periodic alimony is appropriate are: (1) the income and expenses of the parties; (2) the health and earning capacities of the parties; (3) the needs of each party; (4) the obligations and assets of each party; (5) the length of the marriage; (6) the presence or absence of minor children in the home, which may require that one or both of the parties either pay, or personally provide, child care; (7) the age of the parties; (8) the standard of living of the parties, both during the marriage and at the time of the support determination; (9) the tax consequences of the spousal support order; (10) fault or misconduct; (11) wasteful dissipation of assets by either party; or (12) any other factor deemed by the court to be "just and equitable" in connection with the setting of spousal support. Armstrong v. Armstrong, 618 So.2d 1278, 1280 (Miss.1993). These factors are used to determine whether alimony is proper in a case. The chancellor did not use these factors, but instead used the Hemsley factors, which are used to determine if alimony is reasonable. Hemsley, 639 So.2d at 912-13. Since he applied the wrong legal standard, the determination of alimony is reversed and remanded.
III. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN FAILING TO AWARD ATTORNEY'S FEES TO NELLIE SMITH.
¶ 11. Since we have already reversed and remanded for the other two issues in this case, we also reverse and remand for a determination of the issue of attorney's fees. The distribution of marital property and receipt of alimony, if any, will have a role in the determination of whether Nellie should receive attorney's fees from John. Lauro v. Lauro, 847 So.2d 843, 850(¶ 18) (Miss.2003).
¶ 12. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CHANCERY COURT OF MONROE COUNTY IS AFFIRMED AS TO THE DIVORCE AND REVERSED AND RE MANDED AS TO ALIMONY, ATTORNEY'S FEES AND DISTRIBUTION OF MARITAL PROPERTY. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLEE.
KING, P.J., BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE, AND CHANDLER, JJ., CONCUR.
SOUTHWICK, P.J., CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY McMILLIN, C.J., BRIDGES, LEE, IRVING, AND GRIFFIS, JJ.