Marriage Of Bouquet

16 Cal.3d 583 (1976)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H and Ima (W) married on June 9, 1941, and separated on March 2, 1969. W petitioned for dissolution, and after a trial, the court entered an interlocutory judgment dissolving the marriage and determining the property rights of the spouses on May 26, 1972. On March 4, 1972, after the filing of the petition but before the entry of judgment, Civil Code, section 5118, as amended in 1971, took effect. The amended legislation provides that the earnings and accumulations of both spouses while they live apart constitute separate property. Prior to the amendment, the earnings and accumulations of the wife while the spouses lived apart were separate property, although those of the husband were community property. The trial court rejected H's contention of all earnings after March 2, 1969, were separate and held that only the earnings and accumulations he acquired after March 4, 1972, the effective date of the amendment, constituted his separate property.