Opinion ID: 2575848
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Because Jayne Has Failed To Show Prejudicial Error in the Classification of Gifts, We Decline To Reach This Issue.

Text: At trial, Jayne claimed that various items of property totaling $5,540 in value were gifts to her from Blanton, and were therefore her separate property. Blanton testified that two of the items, totaling $4,250 in value, were not gifts to her, but were either purchased by both parties with the intent of replacing an item in the household that had worn out (a Husqvarna sewing machine valued at $3,500) or an item of clothing that Jayne had purchased for herself (an otter parka valued at $750). Blanton therefore argues that these items were marital property that should be subject to division as to value. Judge Gleason appears to have credited Blanton's testimony. [40] To the extent that the property purchased with marital assets was not intended by one spouse to be a gift to the other, it could not be found to be separate property. Accordingly, at most only $1,290 in property might arguably have been found to be Jayne's separate property. This case involves a total marital estate valued at over $2.8 million. The gifts in dispute represent less than .05% of the estate. The process of classifying marital property in a divorce is not an end in itself but simply serves to inform the trial court's decision on the ultimate issue of what constitutes an equitable distribution of the marital estate. Because the trial court exercises broad discretion in making its final equitable determination, a classification error will result in prejudice only when it appears that the error probably had an appreciable effect on the ultimate determination of equitable distribution. Here, given the minor amount in controversy and the size of the estate, any error in classifying the disputed property would have at most a negligible effect on equitable distribution. Therefore, Jayne has failed to carry her burden of showing prejudicial error.