Procedural Background Flashcards
What is the pre-requisite to application of CP?
If there is a valid marriage.
Legal capacity + over 18 + performance of legal procedures.
If a couple followed the rules in another state, the marriage will be recognized in CA as a valid marriage.
Alternative to marriage: what is the putative spouse doctrine?
If a person has a subjective belief that she and another person were validly married, assets acquired during the “marriage” are called QMP, and are treated the same as CP upon dissolution if the putative spouse requests it. Some courts also use estoppel to achieve the same result.
What is a Marvin action?
Unmarried cohabitants can contract w/ each other to hold property as CP.
K upheld as long as consideration does not violate public policy. (eg: no exchange for sexual services)
Marriage by estoppel
If one induces another into marriage, knowing the marriage was invalid, inducing party would be estopped from claiming it was not marriage.
CP protections attach.
What are the duties of the managing spouse?
Each spouse has exclusive management of own SP and equal management of CP.
They also have:
- fiduciary duty of trust and confidence
- deliberate, grossly negligent or reckless dissipation or destruction of property is actionable.
- duty to secure written consent for disposing of CP
Rule statement for fiduciary duties:
Spouses have the highest duty of good faith in the management or control of community property.
Neither source may take unfair advantage of the other. Finding a breach of fiduciary duty requires proof of deliberate misappropriation or grossly negligent or reckless misconduct.
A breach may allow the court to deviate from the standard of equal division of CP, among other remedies.
