Marriage of Simonis

Summary

Alan held the community cash, 2015 crop income, and cattle for five years after separation. He mixed them with his own funds and paid community debts from the mix. He claimed reimbursement by comparing total debts paid to total community assets held. The court held that See v. See's rejection of aggregate tracing applies after separation, so he had to use direct tracing or a time-specific recapitulation showing community funds were exhausted when each payment was made. Without that, the commingled herds and funds were community and he got no credit. Division is valued near trial under section 2552, not at the separation date, absent a noticed motion. Affirmed.

What it means for the financial analysis

Build the schedule payment by payment. Show the community balance on the date of each debt payment and the date community funds ran out. A summary that total debts paid exceeded total assets held will not carry a reimbursement claim. A client who held and mixed community funds after separation carries a fiduciary accounting burden. Gaps in the records tend to turn the whole mass community, so an expert should rebuild the transaction records early.

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