Armour v. Holcombe

Phyllis E. Armour “Armour” held title to real property that was deemed subject to equitable division in the divorce of her son, Christopher M. Holcombe “Husband”, from Stephanie Crowe Holcombe “Wife”. Armour appeals,1 and for the reasons that follow, we reverse. Wife and Husband were married in 1978. In 1991 Armour acquired a home and allowed the couple to live there. In 1996, Armour deeded the property to Husband individually, as a gift. Husband refinanced the property with a commercial lender and made sporadic payments on that debt; Armour also made some payments.

In March of 2005, facing financial difficulty, Husband transferred the real estate back to Armour by warranty deed. Wife filed for divorce on October 13, 2005. The trial court entered an order and rule nisi providing in part that both Husband and Wife were not to dispose of any of their property. On November 17, 2005, Wife amended her divorce complaint, added Armour as an additional defendant, sought to enjoin Armour from selling the property, and sought to have the deed from Husband to Armour set aside; Wife asserted that the deed to Armour was executed to deprive Wife of her marital interest in the property. On January 17, 2006, the trial court ordered the home to be sold and the proceeds therefrom held in escrow, pending the outcome of the litigation. The home sale resulted in $68,873.58 being placed in escrow.