Opinion ID: 1213833
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mountain Partnership and Attorney Fees

Text: The Appellee asserts that the lower court committed error by finding that the Appellee's interest in the Mountain Partnership was marital property rather than separate property. The Appellee contends that the evidence indicates that the property was acquired by the Appellee through a gift from the Appellee's father. While the Appellee testified that the funds used to purchase the partnership interest were a gift from his father, the Appellee was unable to demonstrate that particular funds were conveyed, that those funds became the Appellee's separate property, or that such funds were in actuality used to purchase the partnership interest. This factual scenario is not entirely dissimilar from a situation in which one spouse received a monetary gift, as separate property, and subsequently commingles the funds with other marital property funds. In Mayhew v. Mayhew, 197 W.Va. 290, 475 S.E.2d 382 (1996), the wife asserted that certain shares of stock should be considered marital property because they were commingled in a single certificate with ten shares which clearly were purchased during marriage with marital funds and which clearly were marital property. 197 W.Va. at 298-99, 475 S.E.2d at 390-91. This Court observed that [t]he legal argument that such commingled separate shares become marital property is based upon the theory of `transmutation', addressed by this Court in Miller v. Miller, 189 W.Va. 126, 428 S.E.2d 547 (1993). Id. at 299, 475 S.E.2d at 391. Similarly, the lower court in case sub judice concluded that the Appellee had presented inadequate evidence that any gift from his father retained the character of separate property and was used to purchase separate property in the form of a partnership interest. Our review of the lower court's factual finding is based upon a clearly erroneous standard; under these circumstances, this Court cannot conclude that the family law master and circuit court were clearly wrong in their factual finding with regard to the status of the Mountain Partnership. We find no definitive evidence that the Appellee's father paid for this interest in Mountain Partnership. This Court will accord great deference to findings of fact by a family law master. Porter v. Bego, 200 W.Va. 168, 173, 488 S.E.2d 443, 448 (1997). We consequently decline to reverse the lower court's final order in this regard. The Appellant's additional assertion involved the lower court's denial of the Appellant's request for reimbursement of attorney fees. The lower court denied such reimbursement based upon the fact that the Appellant did not prevail on the issue of valuation of pension plan assets. Reviewing this matter under an abuse of discretion standard, we conclude that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in failing to award attorney fees to the Appellant. The issues of valuation and distribution of pension benefits was a legitimate matter; the Appellee did not assert unfounded claims which caused the Appellant excessive attorney fees; and there has been no indication that the Appellant is financially unable to pay the incurred attorney fees. We therefore find no abuse of discretion on the attorney fee issue. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand this matter to the lower court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.