La Fleur v. La Fleur

ORFINGER, Judge.

Appellant contends that the trial court erred when in the final judgment dissolving the marriage, it failed to recognize her claim to joint ownership of the marital home, and instead awarded her only a special equity therein of $10,000. We agree, and reverse.

The parties were married in 1971 and at that time had little or no assets. Both worked from the time of their marriage, and the wife regularly turned over her paycheck to her husband, who was in the banking industry and who handled all the family finances. In 1977, using a small, borrowed down payment and financing the…