Summary
The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in a divorce action involving alimony, equitable division of marital property, and attorney's fees. The Court held that the family court was not required to impute unclaimed Social Security benefits as income, upheld the forty-percent award of the marital estate to Wife, and rejected remand of the attorney's-fee issue based on the appellate results.
Holdings
- A family court may, in appropriate circumstances, consider or impute income based on a party's eligibility for government benefits, but it is not required in every case to impute Social Security retirement benefits that the party is eligible to receive but has not applied for or begun receiving. On this record, the family court did not err by declining to impute Wife's eligibility for benefits available at age sixty-two.
- The Court of Appeals erred by modifying the family court's equitable-distribution award based primarily on the parties' direct financial contributions. Direct financial contributions are relevant but cannot alone overshadow the other statutory and equitable factors governing division of marital property.
- Because the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the family court's alimony and equitable-distribution awards, the Court of Appeals also erred in remanding Wife's attorney's-fee award for reconsideration. The family court's attorney's-fee award was reinstated.
Questions Presented
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred by requiring the family court to impute income to Wife based on her eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits that she had not applied for or begun receiving.
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred by modifying the family court's forty-percent equitable-distribution award to Wife based principally on the parties' direct financial contributions.
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred by remanding Wife's attorney's-fee award for reconsideration after reversing and modifying the family court's substantive awards.
Disposition
reversed
Cases Cited (23)
- Simmons v. Simmons, 392 S.C. 412, 709 S.E.2d 666 (2011)(followed)
- Lewis v. Lewis, 392 S.C. 381, 709 S.E.2d 650 (2011)(followed)
- Spence v. Spence, 260 S.C. 526, 197 S.E.2d 683 (1973)(followed)
- Allen v. Allen, 347 S.C. 177, 554 S.E.2d 421 (Ct. App. 2001)(followed)
- Dickert v. Dickert, 387 S.C. 1, 691 S.E.2d 448 (2010)(followed)
- Kennedy v. Kennedy, 389 S.C. 494, 699 S.E.2d 184 (Ct. App. 2010)(followed)
- Rimer v. Rimer, 361 S.C. 521, 605 S.E.2d 572 (Ct. App. 2004)(followed)
- Kelley v. Kelley, 324 S.C. 481, 477 S.E.2d 727 (Ct. App. 1996)(followed)
- Sexton v. Sexton, 308 S.C. 37, 416 S.E.2d 649 (Ct. App. 1992), rev'd on other grounds, 310 S.C. 501, 427 S.E.2d 665 (1993)(followed)
- Nelson v. Nelson, 651 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995)(persuasive)
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Cited In (0)
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