Michelle M. Day v. John V. Day
Oregon Court of Appeals
137 Or. App. 264, 904 P.2d 171 (1995)
- Written by Curtis Parvin, JD
Facts
Michelle and John Day married in California in May 1985. John, an engineer, was the primary earner, with Michelle ceasing work outside the home in January 1990. In June 1990, John inherited $500,000, leading him to quit his job and work on investments using his inheritance. He used $200,000 of the inheritance to pay off the couple’s home mortgage. In August 1992, the Days moved to Oregon. However, by December 1992, they formally separated, with John filing separation papers with a California court and Michelle filing in an Oregon court. In November 1993, Michelle filed for dissolution of the marriage in Oregon. The Oregon court applied California law for the $200,000 pay-off of the mortgage because it was a California property. California was a community-property state; Oregon applied equitable principles to property distribution. The court determined that under California law, the payment had been made from John’s separate property and therefore awarded a $200,000 credit to him. John ended up with roughly twice the marital assets as Michelle under the court’s approach. Michelle appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Armstrong, J.)
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