## Facts

- Husband and wife married in 1968 and had one child.
- The parties separated in 1985; husband later lived with another woman.
- Wife filed for dissolution; husband initially did not answer.
- A default dissolution hearing occurred on February 10, 1987, but no dissolution decree was entered; the court later vacated the hearing due to untimely notice.
- On February 21, 1987, before any dissolution decree or legal separation decree, husband and his companion won a $2.2 million lottery jackpot, each owning half of the winning ticket.
- Wife amended her dissolution petition to claim one-half of husband’s lottery share as community property.
- After trial, the superior court entered a dissolution decree awarding wife one-half of husband’s lottery share.

## Issues

1. Whether the marital community terminated on the date of the vacated default hearing because the parties lacked a “will to union,” such that later-acquired property was separate.
2. Whether wife waived her community interest in later-acquired property by testifying at the default hearing that the marriage was irretrievably broken.
3. Whether wife was estopped from asserting a community claim to the lottery winnings because defective notice caused the default hearing to be vacated.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the dissolution decree awarding wife one-half of husband’s lottery share.
- The lottery winnings were community property because they were acquired before entry of a dissolution or legal separation decree.
- Wife’s testimony that the marriage was irretrievably broken did not terminate the community and did not waive her statutory community-property rights.
- Wife was not estopped from asserting her community claim based on the defective notice that led to vacating the default hearing.

## Legal Principles

- Under A.R.S. § 25-211, property acquired by either spouse during marriage is presumed community property unless a statutory exception applies.
- In Arizona, absent a decree of legal separation, the community continues—and community property may be acquired—until a dissolution decree is filed/entered; separation, filing, or a default hearing does not terminate the community.
- Any “will to union” concept does not operate as a general rule to end the community before decree; any departure from the bright-line statutory rule is limited to exceptional circumstances.
- Waiver of statutory community-property rights requires a clear, intentional relinquishment; generalized testimony about marital breakdown is insufficient.
- Estoppel against a spouse asserting statutory community rights requires a clear showing of reliance and prejudice and cannot be used to treat a vacated, procedurally defective hearing as ending the marriage.

## Conclusion

The court held that lottery winnings acquired before the entry of a dissolution or legal separation decree are community property, and it rejected arguments that separation-related events, testimony of marital breakdown, or a vacated default hearing could terminate the community, establish waiver, or support estoppel.


Lynch v. Lynch, 791 P.2d 653 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1990)