Lowe v. Lowe

This appeal from a divorce decree requires us to construe the provisions of Code § 20-107.3, commonly called the equitable distribution statute. The question we decide is whether the chancellor erred by ordering the husband to convey to the wife his interest in the jointly owned marital home.

Kay and Robert Lowe were married in 1961. In 1967, the couple purchased a home in Portsmouth as tenants by the entire-ties. On September 1, 1982, Kay filed a bill of complaint seeking a divorce on the grounds of adultery and desertion. The cause was referred to a commissioner in chancery who concluded…