Estate of Baer
Court of Appeals of California
185 P.2d 412 (1947)
Irene Baer maintained a separate checking account and used contest winnings deposited there to buy stock certificates titled solely in her own name; her husband Reginald (defendant) testified he personally handled the stock's purchase and sale, that dividends went into the couple's joint account or covered joint expenses, and that the sole-name titling was meant only to give Irene prompt access to funds if Reginald died first. After Irene's death, her parents (plaintiffs) objected to the estate accounting, arguing the stock certificates were Irene's separate property; the trial court found the stock was community property based on Reginald's testimony, and Irene's parents appealed.
Whether the testimony of a surviving husband is sufficient to overcome the presumption that assets purchased with community-property funds but titled solely in the wife's name are the wife's separate property.