Dunn v. Mullan
Court of Appeals of California
296 P. 604 (1931)
Patrick and Margaret Lyons acquired 68 acres in 1917 as husband and wife; Patrick died in 1924, and Margaret died the very next day. Dunn (plaintiff), administrator of Patrick's estate, brought a quiet-title action to determine each spouse's heirs' (defendants') interests in the property. The trial court found Margaret's one-half share was her separate property under a statute governing conveyances to married women, while Patrick's one-half share was community property; this meant Margaret's heirs ultimately received three-fourths of the property and Patrick's heirs one-fourth. Dunn appealed.
Whether the statutory presumption that a wife's share of real property conveyed to a married couple as tenants in common is owned as her separate property extends to the husband's ownership of his own share.