## Facts

- Linda Wright (wife) and Seaborn Wright (husband) married in 1985 in a second marriage for both; they had no children.
- Husband owned a mortgaged house before the marriage.
- In 1991, husband received an inheritance from his mother’s estate.
- Husband used inherited funds to start a family business during the marriage; both spouses worked in the business as salaried employees.
- Wife filed for divorce in 2000.
- The trial court granted the divorce and divided property, treating the premarital house (principal value) and inherited funds used to start the business as husband’s separate property, while treating certain increases in value as marital.
- On appeal, wife argued the trial court (1) misclassified marital versus non-marital property and (2) failed to award her an adequate share of the divisible equity in the house and the divisible appreciation in the business.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court erred in determining which portions of the parties’ property were marital versus non-marital assets.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in its equitable division by awarding wife less than one-half of the divisible portions of the house equity and business appreciation.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the final divorce decree.
- The court held the trial court correctly classified the house and business interests as marital or non-marital.
- The court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in the equitable division, rejecting wife’s argument that she was entitled to a one-half share of the divisible portions.

## Legal Principles

- In equitable division, what items may legally constitute marital or non-marital property is a question of law; whether a particular asset is marital or non-marital can be a question of fact based on the evidence.
- Only property acquired as a direct result of the parties’ labor and investments during the marriage is subject to equitable division.
- Premarital property remains separate; only the post-marriage increase in net equity attributable to marital contributions is a marital asset subject to division.
- Property acquired during the marriage using separate funds (including inheritance) remains separate in its original value; only appreciation attributable to either spouse’s efforts or their joint efforts is subject to equitable division.
- Equitable division does not require an equal division; appellate review is deferential, and reversal requires a showing of abuse of discretion.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed a property division that treated the husband’s premarital home and inherited start-up capital as separate property while dividing only the marital-contribution-driven increases in value, and it held that awarding the wife less than one-half of the divisible portions was within the trial court’s discretion.


Wright v. Wright, 277 Ga. 133, 587 S.E.2d 600 (Ga. 2003)