## Facts

- William J. Feldner (husband), a building contractor, and Celena Ruth Feldner (wife) married in 1954 and separated in April 1989.
- During the marriage, husband entered into a contract to build a residence for the Allens; performance extended over several years.
- In 1988, a $35,000 note was executed to secure husband’s fee for the project.
- After separation, alleged construction defects and nonperformance issues arose; in October 1990 the Allens sued husband for construction defects and breach of contract and obtained damages, including emotional distress damages.
- In the dissolution trial (February 1992), the record concerning the Allen litigation was limited.
- Husband did not request any credit for postseparation remedial work or expenditures related to the project.
- Wife did not request an allocation of any portion of the Allen liability as husband’s separate obligation based on postseparation conduct, nor did either party request reservation of jurisdiction to later classify components of the liability.

## Issues

1. Under Family Code sections 903 and 910, whether liability arising from a lawsuit on a construction contract made during marriage is a community debt when alleged breach and damages occurred partly after separation.
2. Whether the family court had a duty to separately allocate postseparation or tort-related components of the liability absent a party’s request for reimbursement, allocation, or reservation of jurisdiction.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment.
- The Allen lawsuit liability was properly characterized as a community debt because the contract giving rise to the obligation was made during marriage.
- Any fairness adjustments based on postseparation conduct or expenditures depended on reimbursement or allocation claims; because neither spouse requested such relief, the trial court had no obligation to consider it on its own.

## Legal Principles

- For contract obligations, Family Code section 903 provides that a debt is “incurred” when the contract is made; section 910 makes the community estate liable for debts incurred by either spouse during marriage.
- The time of contract performance, breach, or later litigation does not change the community character of a contract debt incurred when the contract was formed during marriage.
- Claims seeking to account for postseparation performance, payments, or conduct must be raised through established credit and reimbursement doctrines (including Epstein and Watts principles) and supported by an adequate record.
- A family court generally has no sua sponte duty to identify and award reimbursement or to reserve jurisdiction to later allocate potential tort or postseparation components; the party seeking such relief must request and prove it.

## Conclusion

Because the construction contract was made during marriage, the resulting lawsuit liability was a community debt, and the trial court properly allocated it as such where neither spouse sought reimbursement, allocation, or reservation of jurisdiction to separate postseparation or tort-related components.


In re Marriage of Feldner, 40 Cal. App. 4th 617 (Cal. Ct. App. 1995)