## Facts

- Juan Able Vargas, Jr. died intestate in an automobile accident in 1969.
- Juan married Mildred in 1929; they had three children and lived together continuously in Los Angeles until his death.
- Josephine met Juan in 1942 through his exporting business.
- Juan and Josephine participated in a Las Vegas marriage ceremony in February 1945 and a second ceremony in Santa Ana in May 1945.
- Josephine knew Juan had been previously married, but Juan told her he had obtained a divorce; Josephine believed the marriage was valid.
- Josephine and Juan established a home in West Los Angeles, raised four children, and Juan acted as husband and father by regularly visiting, supporting, and directing the household.
- From about 1949 forward, Juan generally did not stay nights at Josephine’s home, citing business needs, but continued the relationship through his death.
- Josephine performed unpaid secretarial work for Juan’s business from home.
- The probate court found Josephine a putative spouse and divided the intestate estate equally between Mildred (legal spouse) and Josephine (putative spouse).

## Issues

1. Whether substantial evidence supported the probate court’s finding that Josephine entered a void marriage in good faith, qualifying as a putative spouse.
2. Whether the probate court properly applied equitable principles to divide the intestate estate equally between the legal spouse and the putative spouse.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed.
- Substantial evidence supported the finding that Josephine acted in good faith and was a putative spouse despite the marriage’s invalidity due to Juan’s existing marriage to Mildred.
- The equal division of the intestate estate between Mildred and Josephine was upheld as a proper exercise of the probate court’s equitable authority.

## Legal Principles

- A person who participates in a duly solemnized marriage that is void due to a legal impediment may be treated as a putative spouse if the person had a good-faith belief in the marriage’s validity.
- Good faith may be shown by reliance on a partner’s representation of divorce and by long-term marital conduct such as cohabitation, child-rearing, and holding the relationship out as a family unit.
- In heirship and intestacy proceedings involving a legal spouse and a putative spouse, a probate court may apply equitable principles to allocate the estate in a manner that fairly reflects competing claims and the circumstances under which property was accumulated.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed that Josephine qualified as a putative spouse based on her good-faith belief in the validity of her marriage to Juan and held that equity permitted an equal division of Juan’s intestate estate between his legal spouse and his putative spouse.


Estate of Vargas, 36 Cal. App. 3d 714 (Cal. Ct. App. 1974)