- Citation:
- No. 09-17111
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- The Court affirmed the bankruptcy court's ruling that the Debtor's wife real property in Pebble Beach, CA was not property of the estate, because she never intended to give her husband an interest in the property. Under California community property law, the real property remained the wife's sole and separate property.
- Procedural context:
- Trustee challegenged the Debtor's claim that his wife's real property in Pebble Beach, CA was not property of the estate.
- Facts:
- In 1984, the debtor and his wife were named in a grant deed for real property in Pebble Beach, CA. Because the debtor's name appeared on the deed, there was a presumption under California law that his wife intended to gift the property to him. On these facts, the trustee made two arguments to the bankruptcy court to include certain real property in the debtor's estate.
First, the trustee argued that the evidentiary presumption controlled, and the property was, therefore, property of the estate. The debtor overcame the presumption by introducing parol evidence showing that: (1) his wife did not intend to give him any interest in the property; (2) his wife financed the purchase of the property with her sole and separate property; and (3) that the debtor never intended to hold any interest in the property. The bankruptcy court found the debtor's evidence credible, and determined that the property was not property of the estate.
The trustee next argued that a subsequent trust agreement between the debtor and his wife effectuated a transfer of an interest in the property to the debtor. The court disagreed, because California law requires the transfer of real property to be in an express declaration in writing. The trust agreement contained no such lanuage.
The Ninth Circuit found that clear and convincing evidence supported the bankruptcy court's findings of fact. Accordingly, it affirmed.
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