Opinion ID: 1788790
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Gift of Stock

Text: During the parties' marriage, Leland Gangwish, Paul's father, gifted shares of Gangwish Seed Farms stock to both Paul and Kimberley. On December 29, 1994, Paul and Kimberley each received a certificate for eight shares of Gangwish Seed Farms stock. On August 23, 1996, Kimberley transferred her eight shares to Paul. On December 30, 1996, Paul and Kimberley each received a certificate for six shares of Gangwish Seed Farms stock. On April 22, 1997, Kimberley transferred her six shares to Paul. Leland testified that it was his desire to give all 28 shares to Paul, but out of concern for the tax consequences, he chose to gift half of the shares to Kimberley, with the intent that she would transfer them to Paul at a later time. Both Paul and Kimberley were aware of Leland's intent when he made the gifts. In its decree, the trial court awarded Kimberley 14 shares of Gangwish Seed Farms and the remainder to Paul. The shares were not assigned a value in the decree. On appeal, Paul argues that the trial court abused its discretion by awarding Kimberley 14 shares of his family's corporate stock because it was Leland's intention that Paul gain ownership of all 28 shares. Our review of the trial court's decree suggests that the court determined that all 28 shares were marital property and simply allocated half to each party. As a general rule, all property accumulated and acquired by either spouse during the marriage is part of the marital estate, unless it falls within an exception to the general rule. Schuman v. Schuman, 265 Neb. 459, 658 N.W.2d 30 (2003). Such exceptions include property accumulated and acquired through gift or inheritance. Heald v. Heald, 259 Neb. 604, 611 N.W.2d 598 (2000). We agree the evidence showed that Leland wanted Paul to obtain eventual possession of all 28 shares of stock in Gangwish Seed Farms. However, the fact remains that Leland gave only 14 shares to Paul. Therefore, Paul is entitled to receive, as separate property, only the 14 shares of stock that he received from Leland as a gift. As to the 14 shares given to Kimberley, upon transferring ownership of the shares to Paul, they lost their status as a gift and became part of the marital estate. Because no value was assigned to the shares, we conclude that the parties should divide these 14 remaining shares equally. On remand, the trial court is ordered to amend its decree to award Kimberley seven shares of stock in Gangwish Seed Farms and the remainder to Paul.