|
|
|
GIFTS OF MARITAL PROPERTY TO CHILDREN
© 1997 National Legal Research Group, Inc.
TENNESSEE: Hansel v. Hansel, 939 S.W.2d 110 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996) (released 1997).
Certificates of deposit which were acquired with marital property in the name of the husband and his daughter from another marriage were not proven to be gifts to the daughter so as to be excluded from the marital estate.
The dispute in this case centered on two certificates of deposit, totaling $50,000, that the husband purchased during the marriage with marital funds and placed in his name and the name of his daughter from a previous marriage. The trial court determined that the certificates were marital assets, and awarded them to the husband as part of his share of the marital estate.
The husband argued that the certificates were gifts to his daughter and should not have been considered marital property. The wife knew of the gifts and acquiesced in the purchase of the certificates, he contended. The Tennessee appeals court agreed with the trial court, however, that the certificates were marital property.
The court rejected the husband's reliance on Sanders v. Sanders, 1992 WL 194578 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992), which held that it was error to include two automobiles titled in the husband's name in his share of the marital estate. The court noted that in Sanders the husband held title solely for insurance purposes, both parties had agreed that they intended the automobiles to be gifts to the children, and the automobiles were under the control of the children. Unlike Sanders, there was no showing in Hansel that the disputed certificates of deposit were ever delivered to or placed under the control of the husband's daughter, the court observed.
After distinguishing Sanders, the court examined the law relating to gifts in general to determine whether the certificates of deposit were gifts to the husband's daughter. The formal requirements of a gift are the intention by the donor to make a present gift coupled with the delivery of the subject of the gift and the donor's surrender of dominion and control over the property, the court noted.
The record in this case was silent as to whether there was a delivery of the certificates of deposit to the daughter or whether the husband surrendered control of the certificates to the daughter, the court found. The burden of proof was upon the husband to prove the gifts, and he failed to meet this burden. While it may be true that he intended the certificates to be gifts, evidence of intent alone is not enough, the court said. It concluded that the certificates of deposit were marital property.
Go to: Gifts Category
Go to: Cases of Interest by Category
Go to: Previous Page
| Featured Services | |
|
| The Research Center: ( Cases of Interest by Category ) | Research Home | ||||
Find Case Law, Case Analysis, and Divorce Related Information...
| |||||
 How to Hire The Right Divorce Lawyer - You must have the right lawyer to have a successful divorce! provides a road map for finding an effective lawyer and then helps you to monitor his or her performance and fees. |
Comments & Suggestions? or Recommend This Page to a Friend!