OPINION
When a married couple own property by the entireties and then one spouse initiates a divorce that will require the equal division of all jointly owned property, it is inequitable for the spouse who initiated the divorce to assert a claim to all of the property by operation of law when that spouse was under a contractual obligation to divide the property equally. In this case, a resulting trust for the benefit of the estate of Mr. Fischer will be placed upon all property that Mr. and Mrs. Fischer held by the entireties.
Both plaintiffs and defendant have filed motions for summary judgment in this matter. Defendant’s motion expressly requested summary judgment “with respect to all claims of the Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint and all of Defendant’s counterclaims.” Plaintiffs’ motion is vague as to which claims or counterclaims it addresses, but by virtue of the extensive briefing, I conclude that all claims and counterclaims are properly before the Court and subject to summary judgment at this time. For sake of clarity, instead of referring to each party’s motion and how they overlap, I shall instead organize this Opinion by asset.
I. INTRODUCTION
Robert A. Fischer, Sr. (“Mr. Fischer”) and Jeanne M. Fischer (“Mrs. Fischer”) were married on November 26, 1988. A little more than a month before their marriage, they executed a Prenuptial Agreement (the “Agreement”).
3. Ownership of Property, Support and Alimony
a. The parties agree that all property owned separately by them at any time, whether prior to or after their marriage, including all such property listed on [the attached Schedules], as well including [sic] all property acquired by each of them hereafter during their marriage, together with any appreciation, income and earnings thereof, and all property which is derived directly or indirectly from the same and any appreciation, income and earnings thereof, shall remain the separate property of the party owning the same and shall remain free of all claims by the other and shall not become marital property subject to equitable distribution under the provisions of the Delaware Code-, its supplements and amendments, or any similar law of any jurisdiction which may be applicable now or in the future. It is further agreed that, during the parties’ joint lifetimes, any property owned jointly by the parties shall be deemed owned by them in equal shares.
b. In the event the parties are separated, then upon such event, each party agrees to vacate any residence owned by the other party as promptly as practicable, but in no event later than six months following the date of separation.... Upon the intended wife so vacating any residence owned by the intended husband, or upon the parties’ separation if the intended husband does not own a residence, the intended husband shall transfer to the intended wife, in cash, ... [$500,000], Further, in the event the parties are separated then they shall promptly take all steps necessary and appropriate to divide equally between them any property which is jointly owned....
c. For the purposes of this Agreement, the parties shall be deemed to be separated upon the earlier to occur of (i) the entry of a final decree of divorce which divorces the parties from the bonds of matrimony, or (ii) such time as either party gives to the other written notice of separation substantially in the form set forth in Schedule “C” attached hereto....
After more than 13 years of marriage, Mrs. Fischer filed for divorce in Florida on December 5, 2001. Mr. Fischer signed the notice of separation from Schedule C of the Agreement (the “Notice”), dated it December 28, 2001, and caused it to be faxed to Mrs. Fischer by his counsel on January 2, 2002.
During their marriage, the Fischers acquired the following property at issue in this case:
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Court of Chancery Rule 56(c) permits summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
III. ANALYSIS
With respect to titled property, when the property is “conveyed to husband and wife, without specifying the estate created, ... a tenancy by the entire-ties ' [is created].”
A The Real Estate
The lease on Lot 71 of Cape Shores was assigned to “Robert A. Fischer, Sr. and Jeanne M. Fischer, husband and wife....”
Preliminarily, to the extent that either party argues that Mr. and Mrs. Fischer held these leaseholds, or any other property at issue in this case, as joint tenants (either with or without a right of survivorship), that argument fails in the face of the plain language of 25 Del. C. § 701,
With respect to whether the Lewes real estate was held by the entireties or by Mr. Fischer solely, I turn to the Agreement, which (as quoted above) states that “all property which is derived directly or indirectly from [separate property] and any appreciation, income and earnings thereof, shall remain free of all claims by the other and shall not become marital property subject to equitable distribution under the provisions of the Delaware Code.”
Despite their efforts, plaintiffs’ argument misses the mark. The same paragraph of the Agreement makes clear that the provision quoted above was not intended to preclude Mr. and Mrs. Fischer from owning property together during their marriage by stating: “It is further agreed that, during the parties’ joint lifetimes, any property owned jointly by the parties shall be deemed owned by them in equal shares,” with such equal ownership despite any disparity in contribution between Mr. and Mrs. Fischer to the purchase of the property.
B. The Automobiles
A similar analysis is appropriate for the three automobiles. The Nissan is titled to “FISCHER ROBERT ( — ) OR JEANNE M.”
First, the temporary registration, on its face, does not name the owner(s) of the vehicle, but rather the person to whom it was “delivered.”
C. The $500,000 Payment
The next issue concerns the $500,000 payment to Mrs. Fischer that would vest under certain circumstances pursuant to paragraph 3b of the Agreement. As concluded above, Mr. and Mrs. Fischer owned the Lewes residence as tenants by the entireties. Due to the legal fiction of the tenancy by the entirety, each spouse does not own half of the estate, but rather, “each spouse is seized not merely of equal interests, but of the whole estate during their lives.”
The Agreement does not appear to speak directly to the situation at hand, where both parties owned the residence. Furthermore, the language of the Agreement does not support plaintiffs’ argument that, in order for the $500,000 payment to vest, if at all, the Lewes residence must be solely owned by Mr. Fischer. Therefore, if Mrs. Fischer vacated the Lewes residence, because it was owned by Mr. Fischer (and herself, though the language of the Agreement makes that irrelevant as to whether it was owned by Mr. Fischer), the predicate to the payment which states that “[u]pon the intended wife so vacating any residence owned by the intended husband, ... the intended husband shall transfer to the intended wife, ... $500,000,” will have been met.
As the parties’ briefs focused more on the question of who owned the residences and not whether the Lewes residence was vacated, the potential evidence on this point has not been clearly presented to the Court. Mrs. Fischer still maintained an interest in the Lewes residence (despite the Agreement that would have required her to divest herself of jointly-held property after the Notice of Separation was given), and may have retained an interest in the Florida residence. It appears that Mrs. Fischer may have had access to the Lewes residence after filing for divorce and after Mr. Fischer sent her the Notice of Separation, and that she may have maintained items of personalty there.
D. The Investment Account
The parties dispute whether the Janney Montgomery Scott (“JMS”) account was held individually by Mr. Fischer or jointly between him and his wife. There are severe discrepancies in the evidentiary record on this topic. For example, Mrs. Fischer appears to have testified at her deposition that she met personally with Mr. Mancini, the financial consultant from JMS who opened the accounts.
E. The County Bank Stock
Both parties appear to agree that the County Bank stock was held by Mr. and Mrs. Fischer during their lifetimes by the entireties.
F. The License Plates
The parties’ depositions with respect to the provenance of the Delaware license plates number 678 and 7225 are materially inconsistent. Plaintiffs testified at their depositions that tag 678 belonged to their mother (before Mrs. Fischer married Mr. Fischer) and that Mr. Fischer also owned tag 7225 before his marriage to Mrs. Fischer.
G. Other Personalty
To the extent that household goods and effects were acquired during the marriage, they were presumably owned by Mr. and Mrs. Fischer by the entireties dining their lives.
H. Disposition of the Entireties Property
When husband and wife hold property as tenants by the entirety, upon death of one spouse, the surviving spouse’s whole interest in the property continues.
This case, however, is far from ordinary. It was Mrs. Fischer who chose to terminate her marriage by filing' for divorce against Mr. Fischer. Understandably, Mr. Fischer then sent her the Notice of Separation contemplated by the Agreement. The Agreement required Mr. and Mrs. Fischer to “promptly take all steps necessary and appropriate to divide equally between them any property which is jointly owned.”
By operation of law, full and sole ownership of all the entireties property immediately vested in Mrs. Fischer upon the death of her husband. Nevertheless, because “equity regards as done that which ought to be done,”
The Court will impose a resulting trust upon the property that is now owned solely by Mrs. Fischer that was previously held by her and Mr. Fischer by the entireties, including the Lewes properties, the three automobiles, the County Bank stock, and all other property now or hereafter held to have been owned by Mr. and Mrs. Fischer as tenants by the entire-ties at the time of Mr. Fischer’s death. “A resulting trust is an equitable remedy by which a court of equity may give effect to the intentions of the parties to a transaction.”
The Agreement is quite clear that Mr. and Mrs. Fischer intended an equal division of the property owned by both of them in the event of a separation (even if the separation did not necessarily lead to divorce). Mrs. Fischer filed for divorce, and Mr. Fischer gave notice of their separation. There is no indication in the record that either Mr. or Mrs. Fischer intend
Mrs. Fischer had asked for the divorce and, implicitly, was asking for half of the entireties property in accordance with the Agreement she made with Mr. Fischer 16 years before. For Mrs. Fischer to retain the whole of the entireties property would therefore constitute unjust enrichment. By imposing a resulting trust, the Court gives effect to the future transaction to which Mr. and Mrs. Fischer agreed when they executed the Agreement. The estate of Mr. Fischer, therefore, is granted a beneficial interest in one-half of each asset that was formerly held by Mr. and Mrs. Fischer by the entireties, and Mrs. Fisher holds legal title to their interests as a trustee.
IV. CONCLUSION
The real property, automobiles, County Bank stock and presumably all personalty in the Fischers’ residences were held by the entireties. As such, legal title vested solely in Mrs. Fischer upon the death of Mr. Fischer. Nevertheless, in light of the equities of the case, Mrs. Fischer’s institution of divorce proceedings against Mr. Fischer, and the plain language of the Agreement, a resulting trust for the benefit of Mr. Fischer’s estate is created over one-half of each asset previously held by the entireties. Summary judgment as to these assets is granted as explained herein.
There are genuine issues of material fact yet to be resolved with respect to the $500,000 payment under the Agreement, the ownership of the JMS Account, the provenance of the license plates, and the ownership and provenance of any other items of personalty that were not held by the entireties. Summary judgment as to these assets is denied. In light of these rulings, the Court urges the parties to resolve the remaining issues. If that is not possible, a one-day trial will be held on January 31, 2005, commencing at 9:00 a.m.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. Ex. 2 to the Am. Compl.
. See Answer to Am. Compl. For Decl. J. and Inj. Relief And Countered. Of Def.
. App. To Opening Br. Of Pis.’ On Mot. For Summ. J. (hereafter "P-_”) at 148-49; Defendant’s Appendix (hereafter “D- ”) at 169-70.
. The Amended Complaint also refers to real property located in Florida, but nothing in this Opinion shall be construed to adjudicate the form of title or ownership of-that property-
. P-194-98; D-132-34.
. P-202-06; D-129-31;-
. P-209; D-164.
. P-213.
. P-210-12; D-165-66.
. Agreement at ¶ 3b.
. D-135-56; App. To Answering Br. Of Pis.' To Def.'s Opening Br. (hereafter "PA-_”) at 11-31.
. D-159-61.
. P-211; D-l 66 (BMW registration).
. Ct. Ch. R. 56(c).
. Kronenberg v. Katz,
. Id.
. Henderson v. Chantry, 2002 WL 244692, at *3 (Del.Ch.).
. Widder v. Leeds,
. William M. Young Co. v. Tri-Mar Assoc., Inc.,
. In re Cochran’s Real Estate,
. 41 Am.Jur.2d Husband and Wife § 39 (1995); Steigler v. Ins. Co. of N. America,
. Widder,
. P-194; D-132.
. P-202; D-129.
. Agreement at ¶ 3 a.
. 25 Del. C. § 701 provides;
No estate, in joint tenancy, in lands, tenements or hereditaments shall be held or claimed by or under any grant, devise or conveyance made to any persons, other than to executors or trustees, unless the premises therein mentioned are expressly granted, devised or conveyed to such persons, to be held as joint tenants and not as tenants in common.
. See Short v. Milby,
. Agreement at ¶ 3a (emphasis added).
. Id. (emphasis added).
. Id.
. P-209; D-164.
. P-212; D-165.
. P-213.
. See William M. Young Co.,
. See id.,
. Plaintiffs even concede that the Nissan and Mercedes were "owned jointly.” Depo. of Richard S. Fischer at 25. See Opening Br. of Pis. On Mot. For Summ. J. at 25; Answering Br. of Pis. To Def's. Opening Br. at 17. Of course, as explained above, I cannot consider the Nissan and Mercedes to be held by Mr. and Mrs. Fischer as joint tenants because of 25 Del. C. § 701. A tenancy by the entireties is a form of joint ownership even if it is not a joint tenancy.
. I harbor serious reservations about plaintiffs’ argument that Mr. Fischer purchased the car himself and from his own funds when the record clearly indicates that $26,264.80 was paid to I.G. Burton, the seller of the BMW, from Mrs. Fischer’s First Union account within two days of the issuance of the temporary registration. See P-288.
. Depo. of Richard S. Fischer at 25-26; P-210.
. P-210.
. Id. Based upon a simple glance at the form, it appears that there is only space for the name of one person and one drivers’ license number.
. Henderson,
. Agreement at ¶ 3b.
. Depo. of Jeanne M. Fischer at 135-38.
. Id. at 108.
. PA-11.
. Depo. of Jeanne M. Fischer at 108.
. PA-12.
. PA-11-13, 30-31; D-136-149.
. Def.’s Opening Br. In Support Of Her Mot. For Su mm. J. at 18-19; Answering Br. Of Pis. To Def's. Opening Br. at 16-17; Depo. of Richard S. Fischer at 27-28.
. D-159-60.
. Depo. of Richard S. Fischer at 26-27; Depo. of Robert A. Fischer, Jr. at 21-23.
. See nn. 19 & 22.
. Hurd v. Hughes,
. Agreement at ¶ 3b (emphasis added).
. P-215-22, 228, 232; PA-2-3, 48^-9.
. Freeman v. Fabiniak,
. Hudak v. Procek,
. Hudak,
