Dasher v. Dasher

Stella Dasher Wife instituted a divorce action against Ernest Dasher Husband. After conducting a bench trial, the trial court entered a final decree which did not address the matter of an equitable division of any marital property. Instead, one provision, which was captioned “REAL PROPERTY,” identified eight parcels as being “owned and exclusively titled in Wife’s name,” and provided that she “shall retain possession and ownership” of those tracts. Each party was ordered to pay his or her own attorney’s fees. Husband filed a motion for new trial, raising only the general grounds. When the trial court denied the motion, he applied for a discretionary appeal, which was granted pursuant to this Court’s Pilot Project for domestic relations cases. 1. Husband contends that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to award any marital property to him. Specifically, he urges that four of the eight parcels of real property, although titled exclusively in Wife’s name, were acquired during the marriage and, as marital assets, they should have been equitably divided.

Property does not become a marital asset simply because one of the spouses obtains it during the course of the marriage. ” ‘Only property acquired as a direct result of the labor and investments of the parties during the marriage is subject to equitable division. Cit.’ Cit.” Emphasis supplied. Wright v. Wright , 277 Ga. 133 1 587 SE2d 600 2003. “Whether a particular item of property actually constitutes a marital or non-marital asset may be a question of fact for the trier of fact to determine from the evidence. Cit.” Bass v. Bass , 264 Ga. 506, 507 448 SE2d 366 1994.