White v. White, 937 N.W.2d 838

Ann filed for dissolution in May 2017; parties married in 1990; no minor children; most property division/agreement uncontested except two investment accounts and certain financial allocations.
Disputed assets: a Waddell & Reed "6300" account funded in 2012 with $100,000 inheritance (kept in Tim’s name; earnings reinvested), and a Charles Schwab account opened with 4,900 inherited ConAgra shares plus later gifts of ConAgra stock (used over time for home purchase, living expenses, and diversification into ETFs).
District court used June 30, 2017 as the marital-valuation date, classified the $100,000 principal of the 6300 account as Tim’s nonmarital property but ruled the appreciation was marital; it treated the entire Schwab account as marital, divided it equally, ordered Tim to pay 2017 tax liability, and ordered an equalization payment.
Tim appealed the classifications of the 6300 appreciation and the Schwab account, the tax allocation, and the equalization payment; Ann cross-appealed the valuation date (arguing July 31, 2018 was proper).
On de novo review, the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the district court except it held 6,500 remaining ConAgra shares in the Schwab account were traceable nonmarital property (valued at $232,440) and modified the division: the remaining Schwab balance split equally, yielding Tim $832,618 and Ann $600,178; otherwise the decree was affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Ann)	Defendant's Argument (Tim)	Held
Whether appreciation in the 6300 account is marital	Appreciation is marital because Tim actively managed the investment using his financial expertise	Growth is nonmarital as direct fruit of inheritance and passively managed by money managers	Appreciation is marital; Tim failed to prove growth was passive or unrelated to his active efforts
Whether Schwab account is marital	Entire account is marital due to commingling, use for marital purposes, and diversification	Schwab is nonmarital because funded by inherited/gifted ConAgra shares and opened in Tim’s name; growth traceable	Except for 6,500 ConAgra shares (traceable nonmarital), the Schwab account was marital; remainder divided equally
Proper valuation date for accounts	July 31, 2018 yields more up-to-date values; June 30, 2017 gives Tim a windfall	June 30, 2017 reflects parties’ separation of working finances and is reasonable	June 30, 2017 is a reasonable valuation date and not an abuse of discretion
Allocation of 2017 tax liability and equalization payment	(implicit) tax should not fall solely on one spouse; equal division of debts	Court erred ordering Tim solely liable for 2017 taxes and equalization	Court did not abuse discretion: given facts (valuation date, historic use of Schwab funds for taxes, account growth and Ann’s withholding), Tim ordered to pay 2017 tax and equalization upheld

Stephens v. Stephens, 297 Neb. 188, 899 N.W.2d 582 (2017) (articulates and applies the active-appreciation rule for nonmarital assets)
Coufal v. Coufal, 291 Neb. 378, 866 N.W.2d 74 (2015) (discusses when appreciation on a nonmarital retirement account is passive and remains nonmarital)
Stanosheck v. Jeanette, 294 Neb. 138, 881 N.W.2d 599 (2016) (test for traceability and when growth is due solely to market forces rather than spouse effort)
Meints v. Meints, 258 Neb. 1017, 608 N.W.2d 564 (2000) (income tax liabilities incurred during marriage are marital debts though certain penalties may remain nonmarital)
Dooling v. Dooling, 303 Neb. 494, 930 N.W.2d 481 (2019) (sets forth the three-step framework for equitable division of marital property)