Heim v. Heim
Heim v. Heim
Opinion of the Court
John and Patricia Heim were married on September 15,1992. On the day before, they executed a prenuptial agreement. In paragraph six of the agreement, John promised to pay Patricia $100,000 “in the event of the divorce or separation of the parties which promise Patricia Mohler requested before she would sign this agreement.” Paragraph 4 of the agreement provided that the $100,-000 payment was
subject to modification in the event that the'circumstances of the parties change substantially from the financial positions of the parties disclosed in connection with this agreement as Schedule A and Schedule B.
Schedule A disclosed that Patricia owned portions of five pieces of real estate, with $406,000 in equity, and $108,500 in other assets, for a total net worth of $514,500. Schedule B indicated that John owned three real properties, with $195,000 in equity, and had $463,717 in other assets, comprising a net worth of $658,717.
During the marriage, John sold two of his premarital properties and used the money to purchase the marital home on Cavendish Road and two condominiums on Chevy Chase Drive, all in Boca Raton, Florida. All three of these properties were titled in John and Patricia’s names, as tenants by the entireties. At trial, both parties claimed a special equity in the three properties; John because he had provided the money to purchase the real estate, and Patricia because of the work she had done on the properties and the bargain price she had obtained from her son, from whom the couple had purchased one of the condominiums.
The trial court denied all claims for a special equity, finding that neither party had worked on the properties “above and beyond the course of any normal duty to care” for them. We affirm this aspect of the trial court’s judgment. As to the claim of a special equity based on their financial contributions to the properties, the trial court held that “both parties failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they did not intend to make a gift to the other party of one half of such properties.” We reverse this portion of the trial court’s ruling, since it appears that the trial court held the parties to a higher burden of proof than the law requires.
The three Boca Raton properties fall squarely within the provisions of section 61.075(5)(a)5, Florida Statutes (1997), which provides:
All real property held by the parties as tenants by the entireties, whether acquired prior to or during the marriage, shall be presumed to be a marital asset. If, in any case, a.party makes a claim to the contrary, the burden of proof shall be on the party asserting the claim for a special equity.
Construing this statutory language, the supreme court has written that
the statute creates a presumption that en-tireties real estate is marital property regardless of who paid for it. The party claiming a special equity and seeking to have the property declared a n'onmarital asset now has the burden of overcoming this presumption by proving that a gift was not intended.
Robertson v. Robertson, 593 So.2d 491, 494 (Fla. 1991). Robertson recognizes that section 61.075(5)(a)5 creates a presumption affecting the burden of proof. See §§ 90.302(2), 90.304, Fla: Stat. (1997). To overcome the statutory presumption, Robertson says nothing about imposing the higher burden of proof appropriate for a criminal case. Ml references in the opinion suggest that the party claiming a special equity must prove that “no" gift was intended.” Nothing in the statute suggests that it was imposing a burden of proof greater than that required in the typical civil case— proof by the greater weight of the evidence. Absent some legislative direction to the contrary, we are reluctant to complicate the job of a trial court and require different quanta of proof for different issues in Chapter 61 proceedings. To overcome the section 61.075(5)(a)5 presumption, a party need prove only by the greater weight of the evidence that a gift was not intended.
Such a holding is consistent with prior decisions of this court. In a case decided prior to the enactment of section 61.075(5)(a)5, this court rejected the conten
On a different issue, the trial court upheld the validity of the prenuptial agreement and ordered the husband to pay his wife $100,000 out of marital assets.
The final judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
. Knecht v. Knecht, 629 So.2d 883 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) appears to conflict with Smith v. Smith, 597 So.2d 370 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992), which holds that a section 61.075(3)(a)5 presumption can be overcome only by evidence establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that no gift was intended. As authority for this proposition, Smith relies on Lindley v. Lindley, 84 So.2d 17, 20 (Fla. 1955), a case decided well before the enactment of the statute here at issue. In Shepherd v. Shepherd, 526 So.2d 95, 97 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), we suggested that the scope of Lindley was narrow and that the case is properly confined to its facts.
. The only marital assets identified in the final judgment were the three Boca Raton properties. The court valued these assets at $240,800 after deducting some liabilities. The judgment allocated the wife's portion at $220,400, which included the $100,000 under the prenuptial agreement plus one-half of the equity in the marital properties ($120,400).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John J. HEIM, Jr. v. Patricia M. HEIM
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published