Court Opinion

ID: 9847844
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:08:37.415293+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:38.405140
License: Public Domain

Cureton, Judge
(concurring):
I concur in the affirmance of the trial court’s decision, but would expound further on one of the husband’s contentions. The husband makes the novel argument that the wife should be barred of all interest in the marital estate because of her participation in the murder for hire scheme. In support of his argument, the husband cites D’Arc v. D’Arc, 164 N.J. Super. 226, 395 A. (2d) 1270 (Ch. Div. 1978), aff'd in part and rev’d in part, 175 N.J. Super. 598, 421 A. (2d) 602 (App. Div. 1980). In that case a husband who attempted to hire a contract killer to murder his wife was barred from receiving equitable distribution of any assets derived from the wife. D’Arc, 421 A. (2d) at 603.1
On the other hand, the wife contends this single act of misconduct occurring after separation did not cause dissolution of the marriage, nor diminish the estate, nor cause any actual injury. Further, she argues the husband comes into court with unclean hands because he committed adultery and mistreated her during the marriage. She further argues her single act of misconduct should not trigger a windfall to the husband and because it occurred after a pendente lite order was entered it *544should not be considered at all under S.C. Code Ann. Section 20-7-472(2).
The few states that have dealt with this issue seem to hold that even in the face of statutes prohibiting the use of fault to affect equitable division, an attempt murder of a spouse is such an egregious act as to constitute outrageous misconduct which should be considered in equitable distribution. As we read the cases, none of the courts have held as the husband asks us to hold that a spouse who attempts to murder the other spouse should be barred of all property rights as a matter of public policy. See Brancoveanu v. Brancoveanu, 145 A.D. (2d) 395, 535 N.Y.S. (2d) 86 (1988) (court awarded the husband who participated in an attempted murder for hire of his wife forty percent of the proceeds from the sale of the marital residence, but refused to grant him any share of the wife’s dental practice); Stover v. Stover, 287 Ark. 116, 696 S.W. (2d) 750 (1985) (wife’s conspiracy to murder husband justified unequal division in his favor); contra, D’Arc, 421 A. (2d) 602 (husband’s attempt to murder his wife should not be ignored especially where he had made no meaningful contribution to the marital estate).
The approach taken by the majority (if not all) of the courts is to evaluate each case on its merits. I, too, would not hold as a matter of public policy that in every case where one spouse participates in an attempt to murder the other spouse, the offending spouse should be barred from a property division. I would take the approach taken by a majority of the courts and evaluate the misconduct of the offending spouse in each case.
I would hold the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in awarding the wife a thirty-five percent interest in the marital estate. The marriage lasted for eighteen years; the misconduct of the wife occurred after the separation and did not result in an undue economic burden on the husband; the husband was guilty of misconduct during the marriage; the wife was disabled and unable to earn a living, and the parties’ marriage was generally a stormy one.

 Our reading of this ease reflects that one of the primary reasons the court did not award the husband any assets was the fact he contributed little, if anything to the marriage, and indeed, reaped handsome financial benefits during the marriage from his wealthy wife. The primary asset the husband sought was the enforcement of an ambiguous agreement whereby the wife had agreed to pay the husband $10,000 per month tax free.