Fillingim v. Fillingim

In this dispute over the division of property in a divorce decree, we must decide whether the trial court impermissibly reclassified an asset originally divided in a 1981 divorce decree. For the reasons expressed below, we hold that it did.

Rita Lackey Fillingim Pearson (Rita) and Willis Dan Fillingim (Dan) married on August 1, 1970. During the marriage, Dan’s parents conveyed to Dan four deeds for mineral rights, which Dan and Rita jointly leased to third parties. Dan and Rita divorced on June 9,1981.

The divorce decree states that “the estate of the parties be divided as follows” and divides…