Dodson Parker Attorneys Win in the Tennessee Court of Appeals Again
Dodson Parker Appellate Team protects gifted share of family limited partnership from distribution in divorce case.
Dodson Parker attorneys Donald Capparella and Jacob A. Vanzin were recently successful on appeal in reversing the trial court’s misclassification of the husband’s interest in his family’s “closely held limited partnership” as marital property in a divorce case – when the interest should have been classified as separate property from the beginning.
In the case, Robeson v. Robeson, No. M2023-01449-COA-R3-CV, 2025 WL 368233 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2025), the Chancery Court for Williamson County held that the husband’s interest in a “closely held limited partnership” formed by the Husband’s father was marital property, and therefore subject to distribution as part of the marital estate. On appeal, husband challenged the trial court’s classification of his share of the limited partnership as marital property. Husband was able to successfully argue that he had acquired his interest in the closely held limited partnership as a gift from his father. Consequently, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s finding that the husband’s interest in the limited partnership was marital property, finding that it was separate property because it was a gift. The Court of Appeals also found that any appreciation on the value of the gift during the marriage remained separate property, not marital, because Wife had failed to establish that she substantially contributed to the preservation and appreciation of the property.
Donald Capparella presented the oral argument to the Tennessee Court of Appeals on October 1, 2024. You can watch the full video of the oral argument here.
The Court of Appeals of Tennessee issued its opinion on February 3, 2025. You can read the full opinion here.
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