Marriage Of Roesch

147 Cal. Rptr. 586 (1978)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

W and William (H) were married in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1947, when both were aged 21; they separated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 28, 1973. The parties have two children. Except for a brief period early in the marriage, the marital domicile was Pennsylvania, a common law state. When H left the household, he established his residence in California. W and the parties' son have remained in Pennsylvania. H was employed by Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation in Pittsburgh and was eventually elected to the position of president and chief executive officer. His total gross earnings in that position were $163,000 in 1971. On January 1, 1972, H was elected chairman of the board of directors and president at a base annual salary of $200,000. In 1973, H entered negotiations for employment with Kaiser Industries Corporation of Oakland, California. H entered into an employment agreement with Kaiser. H was to be president and chief executive officer commencing January 1, 1974, for a term ending December 31, 1980, with a right of extension to May 31, 1990. The agreement set a base annual salary of $225,000 plus bonuses and other benefits. When the parties separated, H moved his domicile to California. In July 1974, H commenced the present action for marital dissolution. During the marriage, the parties acquired as tenants by the entireties, the family home and its furnishings, an automobile, and certain other property. Other assets acquired by H during the marriage were, under Pennsylvania law, the separate property of H. The trial court characterized all of those assets as quasi-community property and divided them between the parties. W appealed the division of the quasi-community-property as inequitable and improper.