In Downs v. Downs,[1] the supreme court held that a spouse’s contributions to the marital estate may be considered when determining property division in a divorce proceeding. In the divorce proceeding between Errol and Deborah Downs, the superior court ordered an unequal property division in favor of Deborah. On appeal, Errol challenged the court’s property division, arguing that the court improperly considered Deborah’s and her parents’ contributions to the marriage. He contended that the contributions were marital property, and so should have been divided equally between the parties. The supreme court affirmed the lower court’s decision, explaining that the lower court did not improperly view the contributions as separate property to be returned to Deborah. Rather, it considered Deborah and her family’s contributions to the marital estate as a relevant factor in deciding how to divide the property. Such consideration was within the bounds of the trial court’s discretion. Affirming the lower court’s decision, the supreme court held that a trial court may consider a party’s contributions to the marital estate as a relevant factor when deciding how to divide marital property.
[1] 440 P.3d 294 (Alaska 2019).
