Divorce Law Journal

Unmarried Cohabitants' Division of Real Estate Proceeds - Published Opinion from Ky Court of Appeals Today

PAISLEY V. TALLEY

An unmarried couple owned a home in joint names with a right of survivorship. Boyfriend made the majority of payments on the home mortgage and down payment. The couple’s relationship ended and the boyfriend filed a complaint asking the court to divide the equity in the home in proportion to each parties’ contributions. The trial court found that the parties had no agreement as to the disbursement of the property and divided the equity equally between boyfriend and girlfriend. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s order holding Kentucky law allows joint tenants to be reimbursed for payments towards encumbrances even without  a contract or agreement between the parties.

Digested by Elizabeth M. Howell

 

Published Family Law Opinion from Ky Court of Appeals May 23, 2014

Smith v. Smith, Nonmarital property might still be subject to division between parties where there is a partnership, joint venture, or profit sharing agreement. In this case, the parties cohabitated prior to marriage. While the property acquired during cohabitation was nonmarital, the nonmarital property was still a jointly owned asset by agreement of the parties subsequent to a joint venture. Thus, the property lost its nonmarital characterization. The court also concluded the appellant did not properly trace the additional properties she was claiming were nonmarital, therefore there was no clear error in the finding that they were marital property. In addition, the court found no clear errors in the Trial Court’s child support, property division, and debt assignment decisions.

On a procedural note, this case points out that certification of the record must include video recordings. The court cannot look to video recordings for evidence if they are not part of the record on appeal.

Kentucky Court of Appeals Family Law Today

There are no published family law opinions. Campell v. Hale is an interesting unpublished opinion affirming the circuit court's division of property acquired during cohabitation.

Italian Government Approves Bill to Grant Legal Rights to Cohabitants

From The Family Law Prof Blog: Italian Government Approves Bill to Grant Legal Rights to Cohabitants. Whether their parliment will pass it appears to be a coin toss.