Loan to Pay Attorney's Fees

The Mississippi Court of Appeals decided Seale v. Seale located here on Tuesday.  One of the issues in the case was whether a loan from a parent to pay attorney's fees could be considered a martial debt.  The Court of Appeals said yes and affirmed the trial court finding as such.  To me, this is always a fact intensive issue.  Many times, spouses claim these as debts when they are in fact gifts.  I was involved in one case where the spouse claimed a loan from her parents and then listed it as a gift on a loan application.  Needless to say, the chancellor found it was a gift at that point.