April 2018 Case of the Month

Case of the Month

In re Marriage of Schleich (2017) 8 Cal.App.5th 267.

In this case, the lower trial court tried to impose sanctions against the husband under Family Code Section 1101(g) for failing to disclose his separate property, post-separation income, and a car purchased after the date of separation with community property funds. On appeal, the appellate court overturned the sanctions against the husband with regard to the separate property assets. However, the appellate court noted that he may still be liable for sanctions under Family Code Section 2107 for breaching his duty to disclose the funds from the purchase of the car.

However, the husband’s failure to be cooperative and honor his duty to disclose during the divorce haunted him in the end. The wife asked for attorney’s fees due to the husband not being cooperative during the preliminary disclosure and discovery process. The appellate court dropped some of the fees that the wife requested because of the husband’s separate property issue talked about above. But in the end, the appellate court asked the trial court to resolve the attorney fees issue again. Overall, the wife is undoubtedly going to get some attorney’s fees paid for by the husband as a form of sanctions due to the husband not being cooperative during the preliminary disclosure and the discovery processes throughout their divorce.

What this means:

First, the courts cannot take your separate property assets and award them to your spouse as a form of sanctions against you. Second, it will save you more time and money in the end if you are cooperative during the preliminary disclosure and discovery process throughout your divorce.