Jennifer Kate Watts v. Scottie Lee Watts

Syllabus

In this divorce case, the parties owned three businesses that comprised a large portion of their marital estate. Prior to trial, they entered into a written agreement providing that they would retain a business valuation expert to analyze two of the three businesses and that they would accept the expert's findings as conclusive evidence of their value at trial. At the outset of trial, Wife requested a continuance to allow the expert more time to complete the valuations. Despite having ordered Wife to sign a document retaining the expert five days earlier, the trial court denied the continuance and ordered the parties to proceed with trial. As a result, Wife did not present any evidence of either business's value at trial. On appeal, we affirm the trial court's award of a divorce to Wife. However, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in denying Wife's request for a continuance and that the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law are insufficient to enable a meaningful appellate review of its property division. We also conclude that the trial court's rulings with regard to the Ferjo art collection, the two rings gifted to Wife during the marriage, and the children's private school tuition expenses are not supported by the evidence in the record. As such, we affirm the trial court's permanent parenting plan except that we vacate that portion of the plan concerning the children's private school tuition expenses. On remand, the trial court should make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether an upward deviation in child support is appropriate in this case in light of the parties' stated willingness to share the children's private school tuition expenses equally. We affirm the trial court's award of the original Ferjo painting to Wife as her separate property. We hold that the Ferjo reproductions should be classified as marital property and the two rings gifted from Husband to Wife during the marriage should be classified as Wi