Marriage of Bonvino

Summary

Husband bought the family home during marriage with a $90,212.50 separate property downpayment and a community loan, took title as his separate property, and 15 months later retired the loan with proceeds from his premarital Long Beach home. The trial court found the home community property and gave him 2640 reimbursement of $411,213.86. The court of appeal held that no writing transmuted his separate funds, so he kept a separate interest proportionate to his contributions, and it also held that the loan payoff added to that separate share. It reversed the Westlake Village characterization and division and the rental charges, remanded for recalculation, and affirmed the rest.

What it means for the financial analysis

Where separate funds go into a home bought during marriage, the first question is whether a signed writing expressly changed the character of those funds. If not, build the schedule on Moore/Aufmuth percentages: separate contributions, community principal paydown, and appreciation split pro rata, with interest, taxes and insurance excluded. The loan proceeds were presumed community because the lender relied on husband's salary on the application. Trace each source, including a later separate payoff of the loan, because a share of closing costs and the Watts charge for rental value must be recomputed on those percentages.

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