Fischer v. Fischer

864 A.2d 98, 2005 Del. Ch. LEXIS 4, 2005 WL 89424
CourtCourt of Chancery of Delaware
DecidedJanuary 12, 2005
DocketCivil Action No. 2242-S
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 864 A.2d 98 (Fischer v. Fischer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Chancery of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fischer v. Fischer, 864 A.2d 98, 2005 Del. Ch. LEXIS 4, 2005 WL 89424 (Del. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

CHANDLER, Chancellor.

When a married couple own property by the entireties and then one spouse initiates a divorce that will require the equal division of all jointly owned property, it is inequitable for the spouse who initiated the divorce to assert a claim to all of the property by operation of law when that spouse was under a contractual obligation to divide the property equally. In this case, a resulting trust for the benefit of the estate of Mr. Fischer will be placed upon all property that Mr. and Mrs. Fischer held by the entireties.

Both plaintiffs and defendant have filed motions for summary judgment in this matter. Defendant’s motion expressly requested summary judgment “with respect to all claims of the Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint and all of Defendant’s counterclaims.” Plaintiffs’ motion is vague as to which claims or counterclaims it addresses, but by virtue of the extensive briefing, I conclude that all claims and counterclaims are properly before the Court and subject to summary judgment at this time. For sake of clarity, instead of referring to each party’s motion and how they overlap, I shall instead organize this Opinion by asset.

I. INTRODUCTION

Robert A. Fischer, Sr. (“Mr. Fischer”) and Jeanne M. Fischer (“Mrs. Fischer”) were married on November 26, 1988. A little more than a month before their marriage, they executed a Prenuptial Agreement (the “Agreement”).1 Both Mr. and Mrs. Fischer were represented by their own counsel, and the Agreement was duly witnessed. Mrs. Fischer does not here dispute the validity of the Agreement, and in fact, heavily relies on several of its provisions to establish her counterclaims.2 The Agreement contains, inter alia, the following relevant provisions:

3. Ownership of Property, Support and Alimony
a. The parties agree that all property owned separately by them at any time, whether prior to or after their marriage, including all such property listed on [the attached Schedules], as well including [sic] all property acquired by each of them hereafter during their marriage, together with any appreciation, income and earnings thereof, and all property which is derived directly or indirectly from the same and any appreciation, income and earnings thereof, shall remain the separate property of the party owning the same and shall remain free of all claims by the other and shall not become marital property subject to equitable distribution un[102]*102der the provisions of the Delaware Code-, its supplements and amendments, or any similar law of any jurisdiction which may be applicable now or in the future. It is further agreed that, during the parties’ joint lifetimes, any property owned jointly by the parties shall be deemed owned by them in equal shares.
b. In the event the parties are separated, then upon such event, each party agrees to vacate any residence owned by the other party as promptly as practicable, but in no event later than six months following the date of separation.... Upon the intended wife so vacating any residence owned by the intended husband, or upon the parties’ separation if the intended husband does not own a residence, the intended husband shall transfer to the intended wife, in cash, ... [$500,000], Further, in the event the parties are separated then they shall promptly take all steps necessary and appropriate to divide equally between them any property which is jointly owned....
c. For the purposes of this Agreement, the parties shall be deemed to be separated upon the earlier to occur of (i) the entry of a final decree of divorce which divorces the parties from the bonds of matrimony, or (ii) such time as either party gives to the other written notice of separation substantially in the form set forth in Schedule “C” attached hereto....

After more than 13 years of marriage, Mrs. Fischer filed for divorce in Florida on December 5, 2001. Mr. Fischer signed the notice of separation from Schedule C of the Agreement (the “Notice”), dated it December 28, 2001, and caused it to be faxed to Mrs. Fischer by his counsel on January 2, 2002.3 During the pendency of the divorce, and before a final divorce decree could be issued, Mr. Fischer passed away on December 1, 2002.

During their marriage, the Fischers acquired the following property at issue in this case:4 (1) 110 Breakwater .Reach in Lewes (also known as Lot 71 of Cape Shores);5 (2) Lot 72 of Cape Shores;6 (3) a 1993 Nissan;7 (4) a 2001 Mercedes-Benz S430;8 and (5) a 2002 BMW 525i.9 Also at issue are: (6) a payment of $500,000 allegedly owed to Mrs. Fischer pursuant to the Agreement;10 (7) an investment account at Janney Montgomery Scott number 3301-7960;11 (8) 2000 shares of County Bank stock;12 (9) the Delaware license plates [103]*103attached to the 2001 Mercedes (No. 7225) and 2002 BMW (No. 678);13 as well as (10) various undefined items of personal property at the Fischers’ residences in Delaware and Florida.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Court of Chancery Rule 56(c) permits summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”14 When the Court is faced with cross-motions for summary judgment the same standard must be applied to each of the parties’ motions and the mere existence of cross-motions does not necessarily indicate that summary judgment is appropriate for one of the parties.15 Thus when presented with cross-motions for summary judgment a movant is entitled to relief only if the Court determines that the record does not require a more thorough development to clarify the law or its application to the case.16

III. ANALYSIS

With respect to titled property, when the property is “conveyed to husband and wife, without specifying the estate created, ... a tenancy by the entire-ties ' [is created].”17 It is not necessary that the title explicitly refer to the marital relationship.18 With respect to untitled personal property in the joint possession and use of the spouses, especially household goods and furnishings, that property is presumptively held by the entireties.19 The tenancy by the entireties is based on the legal fiction that husband, and wife are one,20 and “neither [spouse] without the consent of the other can [alienate], encumber, or in any way impair the estate with respect to the other.”21 It is irrelevant that the spouses do not make equal contributions to the purchase of the asset if they intend to hold it by the entireties.22

A The Real Estate

The lease on Lot 71 of Cape Shores was assigned to “Robert A. Fischer, Sr. and Jeanne M. Fischer, husband and wife....”23

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
864 A.2d 98, 2005 Del. Ch. LEXIS 4, 2005 WL 89424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fischer-v-fischer-delch-2005.