Ruiz v. Ruiz
Ruiz v. Ruiz
Opinion of the Court
The husband appeals a final judgment in a dissolution of marriage case. The wife cross-appeals. We address only one point raised by the husband and reverse on that basis. We have considered the remaining points advanced by both parties and find they are without merit.
The husband claims it was error for the trial court to characterize $215,000 in jewelry purchased with marital assets as “gifts to the wife and therefore not subject to division.” We agree. The jewelry here under dispute was not a single item such as in Burnham v. Burnham, 343 So.2d 639 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977), nor an item coming from a source outside the marriage as in Sihler v. Sihler, 376 So.2d 941 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). Rather, the Ruiz jewelry represents an asset accumulated as a result of a course of conduct whereby twenty per cent of the couple’s marital funds were so invested over a period of years. The husband testified that the jewelry was purchased for investment. The wife testified that the jewelry represented gifts made by
In awarding the wife all of the jewelry in addition to the otherwise equitable share of marital assets, a degree of inequity resulted that cannot be perceived as lying within the trial court’s discretion. See Marcoux v. Marcoux, 464 So.2d 542 (Fla. 1985); Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So.2d 1197 (Fla. 1980); see also Alexander v. Alexander, 479 So.2d 815 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985). In making its determination as to the equitable distribution of marital assets, the trial court should have included all appropriate assets. For these reasons, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Albert RUIZ v. Rosanna RUIZ
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published