In Thompson v. Thompson,[1] the supreme court held a 70/30 division of a fishing boat to be an inequitable split of marital property when the rest of the marital estate was divided 55/45. At some point during the marriage of Everett Thompson, a commercial fisherman, and Sharon Thompson, the couple purchased the fishing vessel F/V NORTHERN FLYER. Sharon subsequently filed for divorce. In dividing the marital estate, the trial court determined that the overall estate would be divided 55/45 in Sharon’s favor, but the F/V NORTHERN FLYER would be divided 70/30 in Everett’s favor due to his perceived disproportionate contribution to the boat’s operation and upkeep. On appeal, Everett argued that the decision to award him more of the equity in the F/V NORTHERN FLYER than in the rest of the marital estate was justified by the minimal involvement of Sharon in the fishing business. The supreme court vacated the lower court’s decision regarding the division of the F/V NORTHERN FLYER, holding that the split was unjust in light of Everett’s inability to demonstrate that statutory factors allowing for unequal division of marital property favored him. The court noted that the fact that one spouse’s qualifications allow the couple to acquire an asset does not alter the marital character of an asset. The supreme court vacated and remanded, holding a 70/30 division of a fishing boat to be an inequitable split of marital property when the rest of the marital estate was divided 55/45.
[1] 454 P.3d 981 (Alaska 2019).
