Watkins v. Watkins

924 S.W.2d 542, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 876, 1996 WL 265997
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 21, 1996
DocketNo. WD 51041
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 924 S.W.2d 542 (Watkins v. Watkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watkins v. Watkins, 924 S.W.2d 542, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 876, 1996 WL 265997 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

HANNA, Presiding Judge.

Warren Watkins appeals a decree of dissolution, which dissolved his marriage to Theresa Watkins, claiming that the trial court’s decision concerning the division of property, award of maintenance, child support, and to order the evaluation of the appellant’s business was against the weight of the evidence. The appellant is a shareholder in a closely held, family funeral home business, which is a primary point of contention on appeal.

The trial court dissolved the marriage and awarded custody of the parties’ two uneman-cipated children and child support to the respondent wife. The court also ordered the appellant to pay lump sum maintenance of $120,000, marital debts totalling $515,647, attorney fees in the amount of $2725, expert witness fees of $2145, and to provide health and medical insurance for the children. The respondent was ordered to pay debts total-ling $30,393.50. Finally, the trial court ordered the appellant to provide life insurance in his name and for the benefit of the children in the amount of $100,000 each.

Review is under Rule 73.01(c). This court will affirm the judgment of the trial court unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, unless it is against the weight of the evidence, unless it erroneously declares the law, or unless it erroneously applies the law. In re Marriage of Lafferty, [544]*544788 S.W.2d 359, 361 (Mo.App.1990). The appellate court will give due regard to the trial court’s determination of the credibility of witnesses, Rule 73.01(c), because the trial judge is in a better position than this court to determine the credibility of the parties and witnesses, matters which will not necessarily be shown by the record. In re Marriage of Chilton, 576 S.W.2d 584, 585 (Mo.App.1979).

In the appellant’s first point, he complains that the trial court erred in ruling that his 25 percent increase of ownership interest in the family business was marital property. Based on that finding, the court awarded the respondent lump sum, non-modifiable maintenance in the amount of $120,000. The trial court’s findings of fact described the transaction as a purchase, stating that the appellant purchased a 25 percent ownership interest in the business when his aunt sold her stock to the business in August 1988. As a result of the aunt’s sale of her stock to the corporation, the appellant and his sister, who each held 1,019 shares both before and after the transaction, became 50 percent owners. The court found that the increase of appellant’s ownership interest from 25 percent to 50 percent constituted marital property.

The parties were married February 14, 1982. Before their marriage the appellant owned a 25 percent interest (1,019 shares) in Watkins Brothers Memorial Chapel, Inc.1 The appellant’s aunt, LaVerne Watkins Thomas, owned 50 percent (2,038 shares), and the appellant’s sister owned 25 percent. During the marriage, in August 1988, the corporation redeemed the stock owned by Ms. Thomas. The Douglas State Bank loaned the corporation $350,000 to retire the stock. This transaction left the appellant and his sister each with 1,019 shares, which had the effect of increasing their ownership interest to 50 percent each. Because the trial court found that the increase in the ownership interest from 25 percent to 50 percent was a stock purchase, the court ordered the appellant to pay the respondent a lump sum maintenance award of $120,000, in settlement.2

In Hoffmann v. Hoffmann, 676 S.W.2d 817 (Mo. banc 1984), the Missouri Supreme Court dealt with the status of property in a factual situation very similar to the one in this ease. The property interest considered in Hoff-mann was the husband’s interest in his family’s closely held corporation.

Before the marriage, the husband owned 256 shares, representing 16.17 percent of the outstanding shares of the business. During the marriage, the business purchased and retired 858 shares owned by the husband’s father. The husband disposed of a small number of shares, leaving him with 223 shares, which constituted a 29.5 percent interest in the business. The wife argued that the husband’s increase in’percentage ownership and value of corporation stock was marital property.

The wife first asserted that the increase in the percentage of ownership of the coloration transformed the stock into marital property. The court rejected this argument based upon § 452.330.2(2), which provides that any property acquired during the marriage in exchange for property acquired prior to the marriage is separate property. The court found this exchange provision appropriate “because the worth of the corporation was diminished by the amount paid from the corporate treasury to repurchase the father’s stock.” Id. at 822. The smaller percentage owned prior to the marriage was exchanged for a larger percentage of the business, which was worth less. Thus, the increased percentage of ownership did not transform any of the stock into marital property. Id. at 823.

The wife then claimed that the increase in the percentage of ownership interest and value of the corporation stock was marital property because the increase in value was due, in part, to her efforts. Id. In analyzing this [545]*545argument, the court adopted the “source of funds” rule, which provides that the character of property is determined by the source of funds financing the purchase. Id. at 824-25. Thus, if the wife could establish that marital assets or labor contributed to the increase in value, then the increase in value would be marital property. In applying this rule, the court found that no uncompensated marital efforts were attributable to the increased value of the stock. Id. at 825. Therefore, the increase in the percentage of ownership interest was not marital property.

Section 452.380.2(5), RSMo Supp.1996, recognizes that an increase in the value of separate property may constitute marital property, if marital efforts contributed to the increase. This provision provides:

2. For purposes of sections 452.300 to 452.415 only, “marital property” means all property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage except:
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(5) The increase in value of property acquired prior to the marriage or pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (4) of this subsection, unless marital assets including labor, have contributed to such increases and then only to the extent of such contributions.

Entitlement of one spouse to a proportionate share of the increase in the value of the other spouse’s separate property requires proof of: (a) a contribution of substantial services; (b) a direct correlation between those services and the increase in value; (c) the amount of the increase in value; (d) performance of the services during the marriage; and (e) the value of the services, lack of compensation, or inadequate compensation. Knapp v. Knapp, 874 S.W.2d 520, 524 (Mo.App.1994); Meservey v. Meservey, 841 S.W.2d 240, 245-46 (Mo.App.1992).

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Bluebook (online)
924 S.W.2d 542, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 876, 1996 WL 265997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watkins-v-watkins-moctapp-1996.