Marital Property

Question 1

Marital Property: Separate Property Jurisdiction

Answer 1

During the Marriage: Property owned by spouse who acquires it.

At Divorce: Equitable Distribution

At Death: Elective Share

Question 2

Marital Property: Community Property Jurisdiction

Answer 2

During the Marriage: Equal shares in property bought with income earned during marriage.

At Divorce: Equal shares or equitable distribution

At Death: Equal shares

Question 3

Sawada v. Endo “Married couple; one takes loan on mutual property”

Answer 3

Tenancy by the entirety, for reasons of public policy, is not subject to
attachment or levy by their respective individual creditors.

Question 4

Guy v. Guy - Ex-husband seeking cost of wife’s nursing degree.

Answer 4

Possible approaches to the issue:
(1) Marital property: treat the degree (or the stream of future income that the degree will presumably create) as a marital property asset, subject to equitable distribution.

(2) Reimbursement alimony: require the spouse who obtained the degree to compensate the other spouse for the
financial contributions he made towards her education, as
in Guy.

(3) Equitable distribution: consider the financial contributions of the other spouse as one factor in the equitable distribution analysis, as the Guy dissent advocates.