Margaret Lynn Owen v. Kenneth Whiteside Owen

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed a divorce property division in which the chancery court awarded Kenneth Owen 60% and Margaret Owen 40% of specified marital assets and declined to divide Kenneth's ESOP and 401(k) plans. The court held that the chancellor failed to address the applicable Ferguson equitable-distribution factors and erred by excluding retirement benefits accumulated during the marriage from the marital estate. The judgment was reversed and remanded for a new division of marital assets.

Holdings

1. The chancellor committed reversible error by failing to specifically address on the record all Ferguson factors applicable to the marital property being divided.
2. Retirement benefits accumulated during the marriage, including plans funded solely by one spouse's wages or solely by the employer, are marital assets potentially subject to equitable distribution when the other spouse made alternative contributions to the marriage.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the chancellor erred by relying primarily on Kenneth's financial contributions rather than making findings concerning all applicable Ferguson equitable-distribution factors.
2. Whether Kenneth's ESOP and 401(k) retirement benefits accumulated during the marriage were marital assets that had to be included in the equitable-distribution analysis.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded