Prior to their marriage, Irwin and Alicia Selinger entered into a prenuptial agreement which waived any rights either party had to the other party's separate property, which included "'gifts of land to the other as long as the gift was either evidenced in writing or 'such records or the title of the donated property must have been changed into the name of the donee party.'"
During the marriage, Irwin sold a home, which he had owned prior to the marriage (solely in his name). Using those proceeds, Irwin purchased a Long Island home in Alicia's name. Alicia later sold that house for $3.4 million and placed the proceeds of the sale in her Wachovia account.
In Selinger v. Selinger , Irwin sought to have those monies declared community property, but the New York County Supreme Court didn't bite.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed. The AD1 held that "[b]y deeding the house to [Alicia], [Irwin] memorialized in writing a gift to his wife pursuant to the clear terms of the prenuptial agreement, and accordingly, the proceeds from the sale of the house, totaling approximately $3.4 million and placed in defendant's Wachovia account, are her separate property."
While Irwin claimed that he never intended to give the new home to Alicia, the AD1 was unpersuaded by that argument. Neither the parties' prenuptial agreement nor New York law "requires that a gift of land from a husband to a wife be evidenced by a writing explicitly stating the husband's intent."
We now intend to end our analysis right there.
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Selinger v. Selinger