## Facts

- Richard J. Long owned a mortgaged Pennsylvania residence before marriage.
- In 1977, Richard sold the Pennsylvania home, paid off the mortgage, and received $38,234.38 in proceeds.
- Richard deposited $35,000 of the proceeds into a savings account payable to him or Mary E. Long.
- In December 1979, the parties bought a Blanchard, Maine home for $38,000, applied the $35,000 account balance to the purchase, and took title as joint tenants.
- The record did not establish the source of the additional $3,000 used to complete the purchase.
- The parties later obtained a $10,000 revolving home equity loan used to renovate and improve the property and to buy a bulldozer for plowing the driveway.
- At divorce, Richard had greater earning capacity and a pension; Mary had lower earning capacity and no pension.
- The District Court classified the Maine residence as entirely marital property and ordered an equal division of equity, awarding the residence to Richard subject to paying Mary her share within a set period.

## Issues

1. Whether jointly owned real property is subject to division as marital property under 19 M.R.S.A. § 722-A even when acquired in part with one spouse’s premarital (nonmarital) funds.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in dividing the property by insufficiently accounting for Richard’s nonmarital contribution and the parties’ economic circumstances.
3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by imposing an unreasonable timetable for Richard to buy out Mary’s equity in the residence.

## Decision

- The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the divorce judgment.
- The court held that jointly owned real property is subject to division as marital property under § 722-A even if acquired partly with nonmarital funds.
- The court overruled prior contrary precedent (including Young v. Young and Tibbetts v. Tibbetts and related cases).
- The court found no abuse of discretion in the equal division of the residence’s equity given the statutory factors and the parties’ financial circumstances.
- The court upheld the condition requiring Richard to purchase Mary’s equity within the timetable set by the trial court.

## Legal Principles

- Under 19 M.R.S.A. § 722-A, marital property is divided equitably based on statutory factors rather than rigid reliance on title.
- Jointly titled real property acquired during marriage may be treated as marital property in its entirety for purposes of equitable distribution, even when the purchase involved funds traceable to a spouse’s premarital property.
- A spouse’s premarital contribution remains relevant to equitable distribution under § 722-A’s factors (including contributions to acquisition and the parties’ economic circumstances), but it does not prevent classification of jointly titled real estate as marital property.
- Conditions attached to an award of the marital residence (including a deadline to buy out the other spouse’s equity) are reviewed for abuse of discretion and may be upheld if reasonable within the overall equitable division.

## Conclusion

The court held that spouses’ jointly titled real estate is divisible as marital property under Maine’s equitable distribution statute even when bought partly with one spouse’s premarital funds, and it affirmed the trial court’s equal equity division and buyout timetable as a proper exercise of discretion.


Long v. Long, 697 A.2d 1317 (Me. 1997)