George Henry Gripshover v. Darlene Gripshover

CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 21, 2008
Docket2005 SC 000729
StatusUnknown

This text of George Henry Gripshover v. Darlene Gripshover (George Henry Gripshover v. Darlene Gripshover) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George Henry Gripshover v. Darlene Gripshover, (Ky. 2008).

Opinion

RENDERED: FEBRUARY 21, 2008 TO BE PUBLISHED

AT _. of `rufur; "1W

10uprrmt %Uvurf 'Ptll I

2005-SC-000729-DG AND 2006-SC-000256-DG

GEORGE HENRY GRIPSHOVER APPELLANT/ CROSS-APPELLEE

ON REVIEW FROM COURT OF APPEALS V. CASE NUMBERS 2004-CA-000578 AND 2004-CA-000599 BOONE CIRCUIT COURT NO . 02-CI-00044

DARLENE GRIPSHOVER APPELLEE/ CROSS-APPELLANT

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE ABRAMSON

AFFIRMING IN PART, REVERSING IN PART, AND REMANDING

By Decree entered January 28, 2004, the Boone Family Court dissolved the

marriage of George and Darlene Gripshover, apportioned and divided the couple's

property, awarded Darlene child support of $199.32 per week, and awarded Darlene

maintenance of $600 .00 per month for five years . Contending that the trial court had

erroneously excluded several tracts of realty from the marital estate and that its child

support and maintenance awards were inadequate, Darlene appealed to the Court of

Appeals . That Court, in an opinion rendered August 19, 2005, agreed with Darlene that

the parties' transfer of five parcels of realty to a limited partnership and their assignment

of their partnership interests to an irrevocable trust had not extinguished, for property division purposes, Darlene's equitable interest in the realty . The Court therefore

vacated the pertinent provisions of the family court's Decree and remanded the matter

for a reassessment of the marital estate and for reconsideration of the maintenance and

child support awards in light of that reassessment and of income adjustments the Court

deemed necessary . Both parties petitioned this Court for discretionary review . George

challenges the Court of Appeals' ruling that the transferred real property remained

susceptible to family court division. He also challenges the Court of Appeals'

disturbance of the family court's child support and maintenance awards . Contending

that the Court of Appeals did not go far enough, Darlene insists that the trust was

invalidly formed and should be declared void . She also contends that both lower courts

misapplied the apportionment precedents of Kentucky case law when they awarded

George a substantial non-marital interest in certain proceeds of a real estate sale . We

granted discretionary review primarily to consider the validity and effect of the

partnership and trust into which the parties transferred a large portion of their estate .

Agreeing with the family court that those entities were validly formed and being further

convinced that the transfers to them cannot be deemed either a fraud upon or a

dissipation of the marital estate, we reverse the Court of Appeals' Opinion to the extent

that it held that Darlene retained an equitable interest in the real property . We agree

with that Court, however, that Darlene's child support and maintenance awards must be

reconsidered, and so affirm in part, the Court of Appeals' Opinion .

RELEVANT FACTS

George and Darlene married in June 1988 when George was in his late twenties

and Darlene in her mid-thirties . Darlene brought to the union two children from a prior

marriage . The Gripshovers' marriage produced two additional children, George W . (dob: 8/1190) and Austin (dob : 1/15/95) . Neither party had advanced beyond the tenth

grade in school, and Darlene's work history was limited to a brief stint at a grocery store

and to work as a house cleaner. During the marriage, Darlene was primarily a

housewife, but when Austin, who had been ill, no longer required her full-time care, she

resumed housecleaning, earning as much as $300 .00 to $375.00 per week, but often

much less .

Along with his brother Camillus (Charlie), George operated what had once been

their parents' farm on about 200 acres outside of Union in Boone County. George and

Charlie had acquired the family farm by inheritance from their parents and by gift and/or

purchase from their seven siblings . The farming concern has been successful, affording

George, the trial court found, a personal income of about $64,000.00 per year .

At the time of the marriage George also owned an undivided interest, along with

Charlie and their sister Kathy, in a 283 .43 acre parcel of unimproved land in the

Richwood section of Boone County . The three siblings, along with another brother, Tim,

and their father, acquired the Richwood property in November 1981 . As will be detailed

below, George and Charlie ultimately inherited, purchased, or received as gifts their

father's and their siblings' interests . The family members did not improve the Richwood

property, but through the years, owing to economic development in the region, the

property substantially appreciated . A portion of the Richwood property was sold in

1989, another portion in 1995, and the final portion in January 2001 . George and

Charlie used proceeds from the 1995 sale to purchase a 93.2 acre farm on U.S.

Highway 42 in Boone County. In exchange for the final portion of the Richwood

property in 2001, the brothers received three parcels of Mason County realty, valued for

the transaction at $895,000.00, and a promissory note in the amount of $1,021,925.00 . Following the January 2001 exchange, the brothers found themselves the

owners of a farming operation, including livestock and equipment ; five parcels of

northern Kentucky realty totaling more than 600 acres; and a promissory note for more

than a million dollars. Hoping to protect these assets and to provide for their children,

the brothers sought tax and estate planning advice from Hugh Campbell, an attorney

and certified public accountant . Mr. Campbell recommended that the brothers form two

limited partnerships -- a real estate partnership along with their wives, which would hold

and manage the five parcels of realty (the Gripshover Family Limited Partnership #1)

and a second partnership to own and manage the farming business (the Gripshover

Family Limited Partnership #2). To minimize taxes and for inheritance purposes, Mr.

Campbell further recommended that the partners in the two partnerships assign their

partnership interests to trusts, two trusts for each family, an irrevocable trust to receive

the real estate partnership interests and a revocable trust for the farming partnership

interests. George's children, George W. and Austin, were to be the beneficiaries of both

of George's family trusts . Charlie was to serve as trustee for George's irrevocable

family trust, and George was to serve in like capacity for Charlie's irrevocable family

trust.

In May 2001, George and Charlie had Mr. Campbell prepare the documents to

effectuate this plan. According to Darlene, George did not reveal the plan to her until

the night before they were to meet with Mr. Campbell to execute the documents. She

resented not having been consulted earlier and was upset during the meeting with Mr.

Campbell when he explained the plan to her and to Charlie's wife. Nevertheless she

indicated that she understood the thrust of the plan, and she signed deeds transferring

her interests in all of the realty to the Gripshover Family Limited Partnership #1 (the realty partnership), as well as documents assigning her partnership interests to the

George Gripshover Family Trust (the irrevocable family trust).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Travis v. Travis
59 S.W.3d 904 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2001)
Sexton v. Sexton
125 S.W.3d 258 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2004)
Barriger v. Barriger
514 S.W.2d 114 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1974)
Brandenburg v. Brandenburg
617 S.W.2d 871 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1981)
Solomon v. Solomon
857 A.2d 1109 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 2004)
Harley v. Harley
74 S.W.2d 195 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1934)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
George Henry Gripshover v. Darlene Gripshover, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-henry-gripshover-v-darlene-gripshover-ky-2008.