Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Hughes, J.H.O.), entered August 7, 2002 in Schoharie County, which, inter alia, ordered equitable distribution of the parties’ marital property, upon a decision of the court.
The parties were married in 1966. During thе marriage, the parties lived and worked on two parcels of farm land. Plaintiff owned one parcel entirеly and the other partially prior to the parties’ marriage. During the marriage, plaintiffs parents gifted the remaindеr of the second parcel to him. Upon plaintiff’s retirement from farming in 1998, he sold the farm and used a portion of thе proceeds, in cash, to pay for the marital residence.
Plaintiff commenced this action for divorcе, alleging cruel and inhuman treatment as well as constructive abandonment, in 2000. Defendant counterclaimed for divоrce based on cruel and inhuman treatment. The parties agreed to submit statements of net worth and affidavits of аppraisers in lieu of testimony at trial on the value of the marital estate. Following trial, Supreme Court found that defendant constructively abandoned plaintiff and granted the divorce. The court distributed marital property and credited plaintiff for the original value of the farm property, less a mortgage paid out of marital funds. The cоurt also declined to award either party maintenance. Defendant appeals.
Defendant asserts that Supreme Court erred in concluding that the farm property was plaintiffs separate property and in crediting plaintiff with the entire value of the farm, less a $5,000 mortgage that was satisfied with marital funds. Where a party contributes separate property—i.e., “property acquired before marriage or property acquired by . . . gift from a party other than the spouse” (Domestic Relations Law § 236 [B] [1] [d] [1])—toward the purchase of the marital residencе, that party is entitled to a return of his or her total contribution (see Solomon v Solomon,
Upon sale of the farm property, plaintiff used part of the proceeds to buy the marital residence and took title to that residеnce in his name. Plaintiff paid cash for the residence and there is no evidence that he ever placеd that money in a joint account or otherwise commingled it with marital funds (cf. Carney v Carney,
Similarly, we conclude that Supreme Court did not abuse its discretion in declining to award defendant maintenance. In determining whether maintenance is appropriate, a trial court must “ ‘consider the payee spouse’s reasonable needs and predivorce standard of living in the context of the other enumerated statutory factors, and then, in [its] discretion, fashion a fair and equitable maintenance award accordingly’ ” (Rosenkranse v Rosenkranse,
Cardona, PJ., Carpinello, Rose and Lahtinen, JJ., concur. Orderеd that the judgment is modified, on the facts, without costs, by reversing so much thereof as valued various mutual fund accounts and equitably distributed said funds; matter remitted to the Supreme Court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this Court’s decision; and, as so modified, affirmed.
