Tammy Keymon Adams v. Anthony D. Adams

This is a divorce case. The parties began living together in 1998, and married in 2004. Some time before the marriage, the parties purchased a residential lot on which they constructed a home, financing the construction with a credit card in the wife’s name. Title to the home was in the wife’s name alone. The husband performed manual labor on the lot and the home during and after the construction. During the marriage, the parties operated a business that proved unsuccessful. The wife eventually left to start her own business in a different field. At approximately the same time, the wife filed for divorce. A trial ensued. The parties introduced evidence on the value of the home, various items of personal property, and a significant amount of credit card debt. After the close of the evidence, the trial court granted a divorce to the wife, and awarded the home and the debt associated with the home to her. It ordered the sale of some property and application of the proceeds to the parties’ debt. The remaining debt was not classified as marital or separate and was not divided. The parties appeal. The husband argues that the trial court erred in not awarding him a share of the parties’ business and the increase in value of the marital home. The wife argues that the trial court erred in failing to designate the assets and debts as marital or separate and to divide them between the parties. We affirm the trial court’s decision not to award the Husband a share of the failed business or a share of the increase in value of the parties’ home. We vacate the remainder of the judgment and remand for allocation of the personal property and the debt.