Opinion ID: 1833353
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Whether the chancellor undervalued the marital estate and/or erred in limiting Brenda's share to 35%.

Text: ¶ 16. Ken says that mathematical impossibility and manifest error keep the chancellor's determination of the value of the marital estate from being proper. Ken also alleges that the trial court failed to apply the guidelines set out in Hemsley (determination of marital assets) and Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So.2d 921 (Miss. 1994) (equitable distribution of marital assets). Under the circumstances, we find that the chancellor ruled correctly despite Ken's attempts to hide substantial portions of his assets and despite the amount of assets disposed of by both parties while this case was being litigated. In his amended opinion, the chancellor found that the marital estate consisted of $826,944.00 held in several brokerage accounts and IRA's. In his Order on Motion Sua Sponte, the chancellor amended his prior decision to include two (2) retirement accounts, an IRA and a profit-sharing account. The chancellor said that these portions of the marital estate had been inadvertently omitted from the marital estate in his previous opinion. ¶ 17. Ken contends that five checks totaling $40,565.89, which he acquired almost a year before he filed for divorce, should not be considered part of the marital estate as the chancellor did not make any findings as to these specific funds. The court noted, however, that both Ken and Brenda stipulated in their testimony that they had no assets when they were first married. Following this logic, through Ken's own admission, all that they acquired during the marriage is a marital asset. We hereby uphold the chancellor's finding that these five checks are part of the marital estate. ¶ 18. Brenda, too, alleges error in the chancellor's valuation of the marital estate. Namely, she contends that since Ken's medical practice was found to have been undervalued by $55,326.50 and, since a remittitur of said amount was tendered, [6] the total value of the marital assets should have been increased to reflect the error in the valuation of the medical practice. Brenda also claims the $110,000.00 in cash and the 25 gold Krugerands Ken hid in a closet in his parent's home should be included in the marital estate as Ken liquidated accounts containing funds acquired during the marriage to obtain the cash and the gold. ¶ 19. We agree with Brenda. The chancellor properly found the medical practice was a marital asset, [7] and the mistake in its valuation was brought to his attention. As for the money and the Krugerands, Ken never argues that these specific items should not be considered as part of the marital estate. In his brief, Ken places a lot of weight on the fact that Brenda was not much of a cook, that Brenda made false accusations about him, and that Brenda had an adulterous relationship with Art Sharpe. However, none of these things are relevant in determining marital assets. All evidence points to the fact that the items at issue were acquired with marital funds, and as such are to be included as assets for the purpose of equitable distribution. ¶ 20. Equitable distribution does not always mean an equal division of property. Mississippi is not a community property state. Chamblee v. Chamblee, 637 So.2d 850, 863-64 (Miss.1994); Dillon v. Dillon, 498 So.2d 328, 330 (Miss.1986); Rives v. Rives, 416 So.2d 653, 657 (Miss.1982). The community property system and Mississippi's system of equitable division are very dissimilar. In a community property state, the court may not look at the background of the marriage and/or the behavior of the married couple to decide what would constitute a just distribution of property. Instead the law in a community property state mandates an even division of all marital property, regardless of each parties' respective contributions. ¶ 21. Under the system of equitable distribution, the courts in Mississippi are not so inhibited. The matter rather is committed to the discretion and conscience of the Court, having in mind all of the equities and other relevant facts and circumstances. Chamblee, 637 So.2d at 864 (citing Brown v. Brown, 574 So.2d 688, 691 (Miss.1990)). This Court's holdings in the aforementioned cases show that the chancellor's discretion in the area of equitable distribution is exceedingly broad and he has the flexibility to do what equity and justice requires. Chamblee, 637 So.2d at 864. The chancery court is authorized to call for an equitable division of jointly accumulated property and in doing so to look behind the formal state of title. See, e.g., Jones v. Jones, 532 So.2d 574, 579-81 (Miss.1988); Regan v. Regan, 507 So.2d 54, 56 (Miss.1987); Watts v. Watts, 466 So.2d 889, 890-91 (Miss.1985). Ferguson v. Ferguson, 639 So.2d 921, set forth the factors to be weighed in determining an equitable division of marital property. [8] ¶ 22. A main consideration in a proper division of property is the economic contributions made by each party to the marriage, both in terms of actual money earned and in terms of service without compensation, i.e., domestic duties. Regan, 507 So.2d at 56; Pickle v. Pickle, 476 So.2d 32, 34 (Miss.1985). The case at bar features a couple who have each, over their twenty plus years of marriage, contributed money and/or non-compensated time to the marriage. Admittedly, Ken contributed the most monetarily, but it is also apparent, though disputed, that both parties contributed various amounts of non-paid services such as child care and domestic work to the marriage. ¶ 23. In his opinion, the chancellor properly considered the Ferguson factors in making an equitable distribution of the parties' assets. He found that based on the information before him, Ken was due a majority of the parties' assets. A 50/50 split of the parties' assets is not necessarily warranted, but equitable distribution does require fundamental fairness in the division of marital assets. See Savelle v. Savelle, 650 So.2d 476, 479 (Miss. 1995). Factors in Brenda's favor include her contributions to the family during the twenty-one year marriage and her willingness to give up college and work outside of the home in order to care for the couple's children, which resulted in her being financially dependent upon Ken and having a minimal earning capacity compared to his. However, the chancellor did not include as marital assets the marital home and its contents or the Mercedes, all of which were awarded to Brenda. Additionally Brenda was awarded $108,000 in alimony. We have held that property division, alimony and child support should be considered together when determining equitable distribution. Ferguson, 639 So.2d at 929. Therefore, where one expands, the other must recede. Id. (citing LaRue v. LaRue, 172 W.Va. 158, 304 S.E.2d 312, 334 (1983)). Giving due consideration to all of the awards to Brenda and also her extramarital affair, the chancellor's equitable distribution of the marital assets was proper. ¶ 24. We now turn to the issue of the award of interest accrued from the date of separation to the date of the Final Judgment. In Godwin v. Godwin, 758 So.2d 384 (Miss.1999), we held that assets acquired after an order for separate maintenance should be considered the separate property of the parties, and can not be divided absent a showing of either (1) contribution to the acquisition of the asset by the other spouse, Magee v. Magee, 661 So.2d 1117, 1123 (Miss.1995), Ferguson, 639 So.2d at 928-29 or, (2) acquisition of the asset through the use of marital property. ¶ 25. Ken admits that the A.G. Edwards accounts in question were started with funds from accounts existing prior to the time of separation, thus making them marital assets. Therefore, Brenda is entitled to part of the money in these accounts. The chancellor, in his previous orders, used the date of separation as the date of valuation, and we have held that [w]hen equitably dividing marital property upon divorce, the date of valuation is necessarily within the discretion of the chancellor. MacDonald v. MacDonald, 698 So.2d 1079, 1086 (Miss.1997). It follows that any portion of the A.G. Edwards accounts which were or should have been included as marital assets at the date of separation are properly found to be marital property. We find that the interest accrued from the date of separation to the date of the Final Judgment should be awarded only as to that portion of the funds which were originally marital assets. If Ken has added any money to either of these accounts since the date of separation, this amount will be considered separate property and any interest accrued on it will be the sole property of Ken unless the money added to the accounts has already been classified as marital property. We hold that this issue should be remanded in order to determine the exact total of the marital funds used to set up the account and the amount of additional funds, if any, contributed after the date of separation.