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Marriage of Lucas

California Supreme Court
614 P.2d 285 (1980)

Written by Maggy Gregory, JD

Facts

Gerald Lucas (plaintiff) and Brenda Lucas (defendant) were married in March 1964. In September 1964, Brenda received a distribution from a trust that Brenda placed into another trust, naming herself as both trustee and beneficiary. The trust property remained Brenda's separate property. In 1968, Gerald and Brenda purchased a marital residence as joint tenants. The down payment was paid with funds from Brenda's separate trust. The mortgage payments during the marriage were paid with community-property funds. Improvements costing $2,962 were paid from Brenda's separate trust. The trial court found that the property was owned 24.42 percent as community property and 75.58 percent as Brenda's separate property. Gerald appealed the trial court's ruling as to the ownership of some property, including the marital residence.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Manuel, J.)

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