## Facts

- A husband and wife were married but living separately for about four months when the husband filed a petition to dissolve the marriage.
- Two days after filing, the husband suffered a severe accident resulting in the loss of his right hand and part of his forearm.
- The husband pursued a third-party personal-injury claim based on the accident.
- The trial court classified the personal-injury claim and any recovery as community property and awarded the wife one-half of any proceeds.
- The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s classification.

## Issues

1. Whether the marital community terminates upon filing a dissolution petition such that property or claims arising after filing but before the decree are separate property.
2. Whether a spouse’s personal-injury cause of action arising during marriage, and damages recovered, are community property or the injured spouse’s separate property (with possible community reimbursement).

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Arizona granted review, vacated the court of appeals’ decision, and reversed in part.
- The court held the marital community continues until entry of the dissolution decree; filing alone does not terminate the community.
- The court rejected the prior rule treating all personal-injury recoveries during marriage as community property.
- The court held damages compensating the injured spouse’s bodily injury and personal suffering are the injured spouse’s separate property.
- The court held amounts compensating community losses (including medical expenses and lost wages attributable to the injury) are community property.
- The case was remanded to allocate the recovery between community and separate components.

## Legal Principles

- In Arizona, the marital community and its rights and obligations continue until the dissolution decree is entered, even if spouses live apart.
- A personal-injury claim is not “acquired” by the spouses’ labor or industry; thus, its character depends on what the damages compensate.
- Compensation for injury to a spouse’s person (including pain, suffering, disfigurement, and loss of bodily integrity) is the injured spouse’s separate property.
- The community is entitled to reimbursement for economic losses borne by the community due to the injury, including medical expenses and lost earnings during the marriage.
- A court dividing marital property must distinguish between the separate and community components of a personal-injury recovery rather than awarding an undifferentiated share.

## Conclusion

The Arizona Supreme Court held that filing for dissolution does not end the community, but personal-injury recoveries are not automatically community property: the injured spouse retains separate ownership of damages for personal bodily harm, while the community receives only the portion compensating community losses such as medical expenses and lost wages, requiring allocation on remand.


Jurek v. Jurek, 606 P.2d 812 (Ariz. 1980)