Opinion ID: 2546062
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The set net permit

Text: The first item of property that the superior court dealt with was a set net permit, which allows the holder to catch salmon in Cook Inlet. The permit was in Duane's name. The court analyzed the permit in this way: the set net permit was acquired by [Duane] prior to marriage and[,] despite its use during marriage as a source of income[,] there is little credible evidence that [Duane] intended that the permit would become a part of the marital estate. The set net permit will be treated as a premarital asset of [Duane] that is not subject to distribution. Tammi argues that this was erroneous. She states that the permit was of negligible value when issued in 1975 and its function was simply as an item that permitted Mrs. Edelman and Mr. Edelman to work and develop their fishing business during the eighteen years of their marriage. The set net permit should have been viewed as part of the marital estate. Tammi does not point to any evidence in the record to support her contentions. Tammi and Duane both correctly rely on Wanberg for the test to determine when invasion of a spouse's property acquired before marriage is appropriate. As Duane notes, Tammi apparently does not dispute that the permit was Duane's separate property, acquired before marriage. The Wanberg court held: In limited circumstances invasion of one spouse's property acquired before coverture may be required as a matter of law. One such circumstance is where the parties, by their actions during marriage, demonstrate their intention to treat specific items of property as joint holdings, even though the properties were separately held by one or another spouse prior to coverture. Such intention is manifest when both spouses can be shown to have taken an active interest in the ongoing maintenance, management, and control of specific assets. Where such circumstances exist, basic fairness requires that property treated by the spouses as jointly held be available for equitable division under [former] AS 09.55.210(6). [10] Duane testified that, despite the fact that he and Tammi shared the proceeds generated from the permit, he never considered it something that he would share with Tammi. Rather, he planned to assign it to his son J.E. when J.E. began fishing the permit. Further, as Duane cogently points out, Tammi and Duane fished the permit together to produce income, but all the required management and maintenance of the permit itself was performed by Duane, alone, who completed and filed all the required paperwork and paid all the necessary fees. [11] This case therefore differs markedly from Wanberg, where one spouse had performed a great deal of work in maintaining, improving, and managing two rental properties. [12] Duane correctly concedes that the proceeds from the couple's joint fishing enterprise are marital, having consistently been shared by the parties during their marriage. However, the record does not show that Tammi ever took any action to maintain, manage or control the permit itself. Therefore, the superior court's finding that the set net permit was Duane's separate property and not part of the marital estate was not clearly erroneous. [13] , [14]