In Re Marriage of Bouquet

Summary

The spouses separated in March 1969, and Wife petitioned for dissolution in 1971. Civil Code section 5118 was amended in March 1972, before the interlocutory judgment, to make both spouses' post-separation earnings separate property. The trial court treated the husband's earnings as separate only from the amendment's effective date. The Supreme Court held the amendment applies retroactively to all property rights not finally adjudicated by a judgment whose appeal time has lapsed, and that this does not unconstitutionally deprive the wife of vested property rights. It reversed and remanded.

What it means for the financial analysis

The case shows that the date of separation can control the character of earnings and accumulations, so a characterization schedule may need to split post-separation income from earlier community income. It is a statutory retroactivity and due process decision and does not address tracing methods, so its use is limited to which version of the law governs the characterization of earnings.

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