## Facts

- William T. Stallworth (husband) and Carol A. Stallworth (wife) were married about 14½ years, had one minor child, and separated in 1983.
- The family residence was the principal community asset, with substantial equity.
- The dissolution judgment awarded Carol possession of the residence and deferred sale until the child turned 18 or specified contingencies occurred, with proceeds then divided.
- The judgment left title in joint tenancy and required Carol to pay ongoing mortgage and home expenses while in possession.
- The trial court ordered spousal support payable until Carol remarried, died, or further court order, without a fixed termination date.
- The judgment addressed (1) loans and community funds used for housing/living expenses before and after a temporary support order and (2) a custodial (UGMA) bank account in the minor child’s name funded with community money.
- William appealed, challenging the deferred home sale, property characterization/distribution rulings, and the lack of a spousal-support end date.

## Issues

1. Whether deferring sale of the family residence for about 10 years was reversible error where the record lacked evidence that the child’s needs outweighed the economic detriment to the nonpossessing spouse.
2. Whether a family home award requires changing title from joint tenancy to tenancy in common.
3. Whether the spouse awarded possession must maintain homeowner’s insurance naming the other spouse as a coinsured.
4. How to characterize (a) loans incurred by the possessing spouse to make home payments after a temporary support order contemplated that arrangement and (b) use of community funds for support between separation and the temporary support order.
5. Whether community funds placed in an UGMA custodial account for the parties’ minor child remain divisible community property absent written consent/ratification, waiver, or estoppel.
6. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by ordering spousal support without a termination date or employment timetable.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal reversed the 10-year deferral of sale of the family home and remanded for further proceedings on that issue.
- The court held that, upon a family home award, title should be changed from joint tenancy to tenancy in common.
- The court held that the possessing spouse should maintain insurance on the home naming the other spouse as a coinsured.
- The court held that, after a temporary support order expecting the in-home spouse to make house payments, loans taken by that spouse for that purpose are that spouse’s separate obligation, not a community debt.
- The court held that, between separation and the issuance of a temporary support order, the trial court may permit reasonable use of community funds for support without charging the supported spouse; “reasonable” is measured by the support the court would have ordered for that period.
- The court reversed the treatment of the UGMA account to the extent the trial court treated it as the child’s property without proof of written consent/ratification, waiver, or estoppel.
- The court affirmed the spousal support order, including the absence of a fixed termination date, while noting a timetable could be preferable on these facts.

## Legal Principles

- A family home award deferring sale must be supported by evidence allowing the court to determine that the child’s adverse economic, emotional, and social impact from an immediate sale outweighs the economic detriment to the nonpossessing spouse from delayed access to equity.
- When a family home award is made, post-dissolution ownership should be reflected by changing title from joint tenancy to tenancy in common so a party’s interest passes through that party’s estate rather than by survivorship.
- The spouse in possession under a family home award should maintain homeowner’s insurance naming the other spouse as a coinsured to protect both ownership interests.
- Where temporary support is ordered with the expectation the in-home spouse will make home payments, loans incurred by that spouse to make those payments are separate obligations.
- Before a temporary support order, a court may allow a spouse needing support to use reasonable community funds for support without later reimbursement/charge; reasonableness is measured by what support would have been ordered.
- Community funds transferred into an UGMA custodial account for a minor child remain divisible community property upon dissolution absent written consent, written ratification, waiver, or estoppel by the nontransferring spouse.
- The duration of spousal support is committed to the trial court’s discretion; refusing to set a termination date or employment timetable is not, by itself, an abuse of discretion.

## Conclusion

The appellate court required evidentiary support for a long deferral of a family-home sale and corrected property rulings by directing tenancy-in-common title, coinsured insurance, proper classification of certain post-order loans and pre-order community expenditures, and divisibility of UGMA-funded community money absent specific proof, while affirming discretionary spousal support without a fixed end date.


In re Marriage of Stallworth, 192 Cal. App. 3d 742 (Cal. Ct. App. 1987)