## Facts

- Brenda G. Lucas and Gerald E. Lucas married in 1964 and separated in 1976.
- Brenda had a separate-property trust (conceded by Gerald) and used trust funds during the marriage.
- In 1968, the spouses bought a residence for $23,300; Brenda paid $6,351.57 from her separate trust for the down payment and later $2,962 for improvements, and the couple assumed a loan for the balance.
- Title to the residence was taken as “husband and wife as joint tenants.”
- Community funds paid ongoing costs and reduced the mortgage principal; at trial the home had substantial equity.
- The trial court allocated the home as partly community and mostly Brenda’s separate property by tracing and apportioning separate and community contributions, and it treated a motorhome as Brenda’s separate property based on a gift from Gerald.
- Gerald appealed, challenging only the characterization of the residence and the motorhome.

## Issues

1. When spouses acquire a residence during marriage in joint tenancy using mixed separate and community funds, whether ownership is determined by tracing contributions or by the form of title.
2. Whether joint tenancy title creates a presumption of joint ownership that prevails absent proof of a contrary agreement or understanding.
3. Whether a spouse contributing separate funds to jointly titled property is entitled to reimbursement absent an agreement, or whether the contribution is presumed a gift.
4. Whether substantial evidence supported the finding that the motorhome was a gift to Brenda and therefore her separate property.

## Decision

- Reversed in part and remanded as to the residence; affirmed as to the motorhome.
- Held that when spouses take title as joint tenants, the form of title presumptively reflects joint ownership, absent proof of a contrary mutual agreement or understanding.
- Held that separate-property contributions toward acquisition or improvement of jointly titled property are presumed gifts to the joint estate absent an agreement for reimbursement or separate ownership; therefore, no reimbursement was required on dissolution without such an agreement.
- Concluded substantial evidence supported treating the motorhome as Brenda’s separate property based on Gerald’s completed gift.

## Legal Principles

- Property acquired during marriage and titled in joint tenancy is presumed owned according to the form of title unless rebutted by evidence of a contrary mutual agreement or understanding.
- A spouse seeking to overcome the title-based presumption bears the burden of proving an agreement that preserves a separate interest or provides for reimbursement.
- Absent an agreement, a spouse’s separate-property contributions to jointly titled property are presumed gifts to the marital joint estate and are not reimbursable upon dissolution.
- Trial courts may not award a pro rata separate-property share in jointly titled property based solely on tracing, without finding a contrary mutual agreement.
- A finding that an asset is separate property as a gift will be upheld if supported by substantial evidence of donative intent and completion of the gift.

## Conclusion

The court held that joint tenancy title presumptively determines spouses’ interests in a marital residence acquired with mixed funds, and that separate contributions are treated as nonreimbursable gifts absent a mutual agreement to the contrary; it remanded for recharacterization of the residence consistent with those rules while affirming the motorhome award as a supported gift determination.


In re Marriage of Lucas, 27 Cal. 3d 808 (Cal. 1980)