Farr v. Farr

201 S.W.3d 417, 89 Ark. App. 196
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 19, 2005
DocketCA 04-409
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 201 S.W.3d 417 (Farr v. Farr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farr v. Farr, 201 S.W.3d 417, 89 Ark. App. 196 (Ark. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

Wendell L. Griffen, Judge.

This appeal and cross-appeal raise three issues concerning valuation and division of a marital estate. We affirm on direct appeal and reverse and remand on cross-appeal.

The parties married on July 26, 1991, and separated in April 2002. Appellant John Farr, Jr., (husband) filed his complaint for divorce on April 8, 2002. Husband sought an equitable division of the marital property. Appellee Jackye Farr (wife) filed an answer and a counterclaim for separate maintenance. Wife later dismissed her counterclaim.

At trial, husband testified that the parties were living in Dallas at the time of their marriage where he owned a business, which was sold in 1998 for $500,000, together with $66,000 in debt forgiveness. He stated that the $500,000 was received in two $250,000 payments, one in 1998 and another in 1999. He stated that he gave ten percent of the proceeds to his church as a tithe, that the parties purchased two certificates of deposit (CDs) of $100,000 each, that $96,000 was used to pay off the debt on the marital home in Mena, and that other debts were paid. He also testified that, from the second CD, he took $70,000 back to Texas, gave $5,000 to wife, loaned $20,000 to Darrell Ellison, and gave his son Dennis $10,000 to use as a down payment for the purchase of a home in Mena. He also stated that he purchased a $40,000 home in McKinney, Texas, which was later sold to Dennis. He stated that Dennis owes $32,500 and that the debt is being repaid at the rate of $1,500 per month. He also stated that the $40,000 used to purchase the house came from the $70,000 he stated he took to Texas. Husband testified that Dennis is the owner of the house in Mena and that, when it is sold, he will receive his $10,000 back.

Husband stated that he made various other loans totaling $40,000, some of which were being repaid. He testified that he had between $12,000 and $13,000 in the bank. He stated that his income was $1,500 per month from social security and a $200 per month payment from Darrell Ellison on a loan. He also stated that he receives payments from his sons for repayment of an investment in a Texas business venture. He stated that he had no other income except for a $67,500 settlement of a personal injury case and the $500,000 received from the sale of his business. He also stated that he spent the $67,500 from the personal injury settlement. The $67,500 had been placed in a CD in Texas. In his answers to interrogatories, husband admitted that $50,000 was being held in an account in Dennis Farr’s name in Texas. The interrogatory answer listed the sale of husband’s business as the source of these funds. However, in his trial testimony, husband stated that the funds came from the cancellation of an insurance policy. He stated that he has an individual retirement account (IRA) with a present value of $4,700. Husband cashed in a life insurance policy and received $55,383, which was placed in his separate account. He admitted that he received $155,000 from cashing a CD and an insurance policy in November 2001 but stated that he spent the money paying bills. He stated he borrowed $30,000 from a cousin to purchase the house in Mena but that there was no note. He states that he pays interest only on the $30,000 loan.

Husband also testified that he made an investment with his sons William and Dennis in a business in South Padre Island, Texas. The investment was for $125,000. He stated that he paid $66,000 to settle a lawsuit with the seller, some of which could have been drawn from joint credit cards. He admitted that all credit card payments were made from a joint account. He admitted that, in his deposition, he stated that his sons owed $92,000 and were current on their payments. He stated that wife had prepared promissory notes but the sons had refused to sign and there were no other notes for the debt. He stated that his agreement with Dennis was that the parties would be allowed to take the loss from the business on their taxes and that Dennis would repay the debt as he could. He stated that one son paid $1,040 per month while the other paid $1,308 per month. He stated that he had received all payments since he filed for the divorce.

During her testimony, wife requested that the trial court award her one-half of the funds husband spent in making the various loans and paid on the Texas business venture. She admitted that she did not own any stock in husband’s business but nonetheless asserted that she was entitled to one-half of the money received from its sale because that money was placed in a joint account or in both parties’ names. She also admitted that the parties purchased two $100,000 CDs with funds from the sale of the business. She stated that she signed documents allowing the CDs to be cashed and the funds given to husband. Wife testified that the $66,000 husband used to settle the lawsuit over the Texas business came from his CD. She also stated that she was not aware until after the fact that husband had invested in the Texas venture with his sons. She admitted that she knew about some of the loans husband made but denied that they were being repaid. She also stated that the money for the Texas venture was a loan, with the funds coming from a joint account. She stated that the balance owed included the $92,000, the $58,000 from credit cards, and payments on a boat used in that business. Wife stated that husband was receiving money from his sons on that debt. She also stated that she drew up promissory notes for the repayment of the debt but the sons refused to sign.

Husband’s son Dennis testified that he obtained money from husband for the start up of a business venture in South Padre Island, Texas. He admitted that husband co-signed the note. Dennis did not recall how much money his father gave him or the business to operate but admitted that the last sum was $66,000 for settlement of a lawsuit. He stated that the initial money came from checks drawn on credit cards and was used only for the start up of the business, not for continuing operations. Dennis denied telling his father that he was obligated to repay the debt for the loss husband incurred in the business but also stated that he felt a moral need to repay the money because his father did not have a present income or a job. He stated that he has a specific amount that he paid and that he thinks he owed approximately $30,000. Dennis stated that, contrary to husband’s testimony, he did not believe that he and his brother owed $92,000. He stated that any payments to his father were strictly voluntary and that he reported the transaction on his tax returns as a consulting fee. He admitted that he refused to sign promissory notes drawn up by his wife because he did not feel like he owed the money.

The trial court issued a letter opinion, in which it found that the marital assets should be divided equally. The parties’ MCI stock, marital residence, and other real property were ordered sold and the proceeds divided. The court also awarded vehicles and other items of personal property. Among the remaining items considered in making a property division were money held by husband’s son Dennis in Texas, $50,000; husband’s loan to his son Dennis, $40,000; husband’s loan to Darrell Ellison, $20,000; husband’s loan to David Henry, $10,500; husband’s loan to James Morris, $5,000; husband’s IRA, $4,700; wife’s IRA, $14,000; the cash value of wife’s life insurance, $52,000; and payments by husband’s sons, $35,000. 1

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Bluebook (online)
201 S.W.3d 417, 89 Ark. App. 196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farr-v-farr-arkctapp-2005.