Opinion ID: 2107994
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Chapman Farm

Text: [¶ 26] The court's determination of the marital and nonmarital character of property is a question of fact reviewed for clear error. Coppola v. Coppola, 2007 ME 147, ¶ 14, 938 A.2d 786, 791. As long as there is competent evidence in the record, the court's factual findings on marital and nonmarital property will stand. Id. [¶ 27] The record here contains sufficient evidence to support the court's finding that the Chapman Farm is Carla's nonmarital property because the transfer from David to Carla resulted in the Chapman Farm being property Carla acquired by gift subsequent to the marriage. 19-A M.R.S. § 953(2)(A). That evidence includes the fact that David executed a lawful conveyance (a quitclaim deed with covenants), in which he divested all his right, title, and interest in the Chapman Farm, thus demonstrating his clear intent to abandon any interest in the Chapman family homestead. At the time of the conveyance, in December 2005, David and Carla were living separate livesDavid in Texas, and Carla in Maine. Reconciliation was unlikely and, in fact, never occurred. The act of conveyance by David to Carla, during a period of separation that continued unabated until the divorce, supports the conclusion that David intended the Chapman Farm property to be Carla's alone. [¶ 28] David's intent to relinquish his marital interest in the Chapman Farm is further supported by an October 2005 email in which David authorized Carla to remove his name from this property. In the email, which was sent from Texas, David states I mean no harm to the farm, to Alan, to your father, to your mother, to you, to our children, or to anybody else, or to deny anybody of anything. To reassure you of that, go to the lawyer and have my name removed from all the property in Maine. That includes all of the farm.... Nothing in Maine should be left in both of our names. If you need me to sign something saying that I agree to release all property rights, have a lawyer draw that up and send it along. Two months later, David conveyed his interest in the Chapman Farm to Carla. The email, followed closely by the conveyance of David's interest to Carla, support the finding that it was David's clear intent to surrender any interest in the Chapman Farm. [¶ 29] Finally, there is no dispute that the Chapman Farm, which belonged to Carla's parents before their conveyance of the property to Carla and David, was to remain in Carla's side of the family. The gift of this property was occasioned by a desire on the part of Carla's parents to have the homestead owned and occupied by members of their family. David's email and quitclaim deed clearly bespeak a conscious decision to respect Carla's parents' wishes. Because he anticipated that he would no longer be part of Carla's family, David intentionally transferred all of his right, title, and interest (including marital interest) in Carla's family homestead to her. [¶ 30] David's conveyance of his interest in the Chapman Farm to Carla, at a time when the couple was living apart, and after David expressed a desire to have his name removed from the property, coupled with the fact that the property was Carla's family homestead, support the court's finding of the Chapman Farm as nonmarital.